


Demons(you).me

by Louadorable



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Angst, Car Chases, Drama, Dystopia, F/M, Family Drama, Family Feels, Flirting, Fluff, Genetic Engineering, Hacking, Hair Dyeing, Human Experimentation, Hurt/Comfort, Men Crying, Neck injury, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Religious Cults, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Seizures, Slow Burn, Strippers & Strip Clubs, nanotech
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:41:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 91,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24343669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Louadorable/pseuds/Louadorable
Summary: In a city controlled by the generally altered race of Demons, Lady's life as a mercenary on the lower floor was never easy. Especially when she ran into Dante. A Demon on the hunt for his missing brother.
Relationships: Dante & Eva (Devil May Cry), Dante & Vergil (Devil May Cry), Dante/Lady (Devil May Cry), Eva & Vergil (Devil May Cry), Eva/Sparda (Devil May Cry)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 31





	1. Chapter 1 - Do Demons dream of Electric Pizza?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there and welcome to this DMC Cyberpunk AU! :D
> 
> These first two chapters are re-published from my original Hanami Week Fan pic's AU storyline! Since I started writing in this Cyberpunk universe I've really wanted to explore elements of it and spin it off into its own thing. Which I am very exited to be doing now! :D
> 
> This fic is mostly set in what would normally be the DMC3 Era. So will mostly be focused around the original trio of Dante, Vergil, and Lady. However, elements from DMC1 and DMC4 will be making an appearance! So look forward to that!

Lady was always a heavy sleeper. In fact, if she had the option to stay forever trapped in sleep's warm, dark, peaceful embrace - she’d accept that offer in a heartbeat. Today was certainly no different.

 _"Good morning Mary! It’s 8:4_ _5AM and 14°C_ _outside!”_ Her apartment's AI chirped in its obnoxiously peppy voice. Ignorant of its owner’s wish to be left alone, as it automatically opened blackout shutters covering her window. " _Would you like for me to put on the news?"_

“Yeah yeah, just put it on!” Lady grumbled sleepily. Her voice muffled as she pressed her face into her pillow. Her delicate eyes found the sunlight streaming through the window to be too harsh to bear at this time in the morning. “God, why did I have that thing installed in the first place?!”

The questioning of her life choices was cut short as the large, wall mounted TV across the room from her automatically switched on, and a news anchor's monotone voice began to fill the apartment. 

_“ **And in other news, Emperor Mundus was pleased to announce a recent victory against the city state of Vigrid late last night. Under the general-ship of Lord Sparda, who was recently brought in after 7 months of failed campaigning against the enemy city, a swift and decisive victory was brought with minimal casualties-“**_

Rolling out of bed with a grunt. Lady eventually pulled her lazy ass from the floor, and stumbled her way through the mess of blankets covering the floor. Slowly making her way over to the small bathroom on the other side of her apartment. She stood in front of the washbasin, hands pressed down onto its false marble surface to support herself, as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror hanging above it. 

Ok, she had to admit slumber did have its downsides. It certainly hadn’t done her appearance any favours, if the mess of bed hair sticking out in every direction imaginable was to go by. Nor the dark bags hanging beneath her clouded heterochromatic eyes. 

_Something needs to be done about this,_ Lady thought to herself groggily. Reaching for a hairbrush resting on a nearby shelf. 

**_“Emperor Mundus has also announced another ascension lottery will be taking place this weekend. Any human wishing to be converted into a demon is welcome to take part and put their name forward. A reminder to all you viewers, that this is a rare opportunity gifted to the very few. So now is the time to sign up-"_ **

_There! Much better!_ Lady smiled to herself. Now feeling far more awake after splashing her face with water. The minty taste of her mouthwash was still fresh on her tongue, as she finished up putting on the last of her makeup. 

Leaving the bathroom, Lady grabbed a few items of clothing from her closet and dumped them on her sofa bed. She took a moment to gaze out of the window. Despite living here for the past 9 years, the view of the city she had never ceased to blow her away. 

A beautiful mess of skyscrapers rose up into the thick smog that seemed to always cover the city like a sickly blanket, illuminated from below by garish neon lights from the lower city. Intermixed within were several large billboards advertising the newest of pop culture available to the masses, and large holograms of beautiful women dancing seductively. A large disk rested above all of this, blocking out the sunlight from above and leaving the human inhabitants of the lower city in near-total darkness. 

Turning her gaze away from the view, Lady quickly snapped back to reality, as noticed the time in the upper right hand corner of her TV. 

"Crap, I’m going to be late to meet Morrison!” She yelped in a panicked voice. The young woman immediately began to get changed at a rapid pace. Frantically putting on a loose fitting white-shirt, a tartan red and black shirt, and dark stockings. Before shoving her feet into her newly acquired thigh high boots. Not caring if they didn’t fit snugly, as she pushed against the rigid dark leather in a hurry. 

Grabbing her set of pistols off her dresser and holstering them on her belt. She quickly put away her sofa bed and hurried over to her beloved rocket luncher - that was leaning against the wall near her cramped apartments entrance - and strapped it to her back. She let herself adjust to its weight for a moment, before sprinting out the door and descending down onto the dirty street below. 

* * *

Making her way over to the bar, where her current employer Morrison resided, was far harder than Lady was expecting. 

Sure, she’d anticipated the hordes of people blocking her path, as they themselves head off to work for the day. As well as the uncomfortable manoeuvring that came with carrying her large arsenal of weaponry through such a compact setting. But the sheer amount of people standing around on the street today certainly was….alarming. 

She highly doubted it had anything to with their victory over Vigrid. The human population couldn’t care less about their demonic overlords conquest of new city states. And she would have been alerted by her household AI if any formal celebrations had been declared if that were the case. So what on earth could have riled them up so much?

She soon got her answer, when Lady found herself wandering past the epicentre of the crowd. A man, who looked to be in his late forties, stood high above the masses on a ramshackle podium. He was dressed in a long white robe, with an equally pure coloured veil obscuring his face. His arms stretched wide open towards the misty sky above, as he bellowed in a righteous voice; “Sweet Lambs! Our gracious overlord has once again given us the opportunity to become something far greater than our measly human flesh! We should strive to be our purest and most worthy if we are to be chosen-“

 _Oh god. Not those fuckers again!_ Lady gritted her teeth tightly at the display. Her hands curling into fists by her sides. _“Something greater?" Yeah, because being turned into an abomination against your will is really something to strive for!_

She glared up at the angelic figure with a passionate fire in her eyes. Her elegant brows furrowed in fury. "Those fucking demons and their propaganda! How many more of us do they want to experiment with? Was the last batch not enough?” Lady whispered angrily under her breath. Earning her several disapproving looks from surrounding bystanders. 

Ever since the city’s founding it had been like this. The genetically superior demons ruling over their subservient humans. Living in luxury in the skies above them. While their human stock lived below them in this shit hole. None of these “Ascension lotteries” were really anything else but recruitment drives to refill their numbers after each and every brutal campaign they held. 

Working in the mercenary business, Lady had seen plenty of what had come of many of these prospectors. If the augmentations carried out on them failed to take. Many would go insane, and become horrifying monsters. Even then, those demonic bastards still weren’t through with them! Keeping them locked up, until they needed suitable canon fodder to throw at their enemies. Or if they escaped, it was her job to put them down before they could cause too much havoc. It was unknown how many ended up like this. Given that if anyone did successfully survive, they were unlikely to return to the human realm. Yet, the masses still believed them! 

The brunette huffed angrily, and began to shove her way through the ignorant crowd. Marching over to her destination across the square from them. 

When she arrived at the rather dingy, rustically styled old bar; that was mostly composed of polished mahogany wood. She was pleasantly greeted by a familiar voice from across the room. “Hey Lady! I see you've finally decided to show your face!"

Lady began to saunter over to a table near the back of the establishment. Giving the grizzled bartender a small nod of greeting as she passerby. "Yeah sorry about that Morrison. Have you seen the crowds out there?”

“That I have little missy.” Morrison said with an amused grin, as he watched her approach. Sitting surrounded by shot glasses, and an ashtray filled to the brim. He certainly matched your stereotypical image of a Noir detective, with his bowler hat and fancy suit. “Crazy fuckers the whole lot of them!”

“That they are.” Lady sighed lightly, as she sat down on the worn, wooden seat opposite. Running a cool hand across her face tiredly. “So you said you had a job for me?”

There was a brief pause, as Morrison lit up another cigar. “Yeah, and a pretty big one too from the sound of it!”

“Big?” The brunette raised an eyebrow at that. “Let me guess. Another lesser demon on the loose?”

“Sounds like it.” Morrison replied in a raspy voice. Letting the thick smoke from his cigar plume out into Lady’s face. "Apparently strange sounds have been coming from a neighbours house. Our client suspects something is amiss.”

“Ah great. Just what I needed today.” Lady groaned. Fanning the smoke away from her face. 

“Hey, if it helps! The client said he’s willing to pay extra to make sure that poor bastard is gone for good. None of this ‘returning it to the authorities’ business.” He waved his finger disapprovingly at that last statement. 

“You know me Morrison. Like I’d do that anyway.” Lady countered defensively. A haunted look marred her youthful face, as the words continued to poor out of her mouth. "Those people are already as good as dead. Killing them is just a mercy."

“You’re certainly right about that. Poor sods.” The black man sighed sadly. Pouring himself another shot of liquor from an almost garishly blue bottle, before downing the whole thing in one gulp. 

Seeing this as a good note to leave on. The brunette rose from her chair and began to turn towards the door. “Well, I best be heading off then. I’ll see you soon, Morrison!"

She was swiftly stopped in her tracks by the man’s smooth voice. “Oh yeah! By the way Lady! If you want that bonus, you’re going to have to bring me some sort of evidence that it’s dead.”

Lady spun back around to face him. Letting her hands come to rest on her dainty hips in annoyance. “Really? You’ve got to be kidding me! How the hell am I meant to drag a big chunk of meat back here unnoticed?” 

The black man shrugged. “Hey! I’m not the one making the rules here! Clients request.” 

“Alright then.” Lady smirked half-heartedly, as she gave him a small wave. "Bye Morrison!”

“Have a safe trip little missy!"

* * *

The target house was by no means in a “good” neighbourhood. Situated across the other side of town from where Lady lived, it was certainly a trek and a half to get over there.

Keeping her pistols close to hand, as she navigated through the dark, maze like sections of the lower city. She eventually found herself standing in front of a rather tacky looking Pizzeria. Windows half smashed in and barely held together by duct tape. A half eroded plastic figure of your stereotypical Italian man placed just outside its entrance. The pillars holding up the front of the shop plastered with every kind of graffiti or punk sticker, that was slowly peeling off its base, imaginable. It certainly didn’t look like the type of establishment that served the most sanitary of meals. 

Yet, given that there seemed to be people inside happily working at the front desk. It seemed like an operational business. With a rather overworked kitchen, located on the second floor, if the brief shadows Lady had peaking out rushing from the paper thin blinds were anything to go by. No sign of a home in the slightest.

 _This is the address Morrison gave me. Where’s the house?_ Lady wondered, putting a finger to her chin thoughtfully. 

She strolled around the premises in utter confusion for a few more minutes. Before, thankfully, one of the Pizzeria workers spotted her, and took pity. Leaving their post on the front desk. They came outside to greet her, before helpfully pointing her in the direction of a back alley located around the other side of the shop. 

Lady said her thanks and quickly ran to the alleyway. Finding what looked to be a clustered of small houses awkwardly built into the cramped space behind the Pizzeria. 

_Talk about town planning! This is awful!_ The brunette mused, as she wandered down the alleyway. Her brown eyes glued to washing lines hanging above her, as she tried to avoid the water dripping down from the drying rags. Unfortunately for her, a few of the cold droplets managed to find their way down the back of her neck, causing her small frame to shiver violently. 

When she finally arrived at her destination. Lady was surprised to find the building seemingly abandoned. Certainly not a good sign.

Reaching down to her pistols, she preemptively held down the trigger and started charging them up. Feeling far safer when she heard an excited buzzing sound emanating from them. The three diagonal slits of white lights carved along the barrel, glowing brightly in the darkness. 

Final checks done. Lady gave the door a quick knock to double check nobody was in. When there was obviously no replay. She gave the flimsy, plastic door a roundhouse kick and broke it open. Sending it flying off its shoddy hinges. After a quick fist pump at her handy work. Lady entered the building.

The first thing that became apparent to Lady, was the thick stench of decay masking the place. One far too pungent to be from any rubbish left lying around. Then there was the body sprawled out across the kitchen floor. A young woman, who looked to be in her early twenties, holding a kitchen knife defensively in her right hand. Though there wasn’t much left of her, given how long she must have been laying there. 

But apart from that, there were no signs of any lesser demon being present in the building! Normally Lady would expect to see more claw marks, or destroyed furniture scattered around the place. But aside from the dead body, this place looked almost irritatingly humble.

Feeling exhausted after her long trek over here. Lady took the opportunity to sit down on the cream sofa in the living room. She let out a tired sigh, as she raised her hands to her temples. Massaging them thoroughly, as her eyelids rolled shut. Letting the comfortable darkness take the strain off them for once. Those damn Neon lights always had that effect on her-

All of a sudden, the room began to tremble as though an earthquake had hit it. Dust came pouring down from the ceiling in waves, as a lovingly framed photograph went flying off a nearby wall. Crashing to the ground with a mighty crack. Alongside several other memorabilia. 

“What the hell was that!" Lady imminently jumped up to her feet and held out one of her energy pistols with murderous intent. Her eyes full of paranoia, as she scanned the room for the source of the trembles. An eerie silence over taking the place, until all that was left was the young women’s heavy breathing. 

Taking a moment to stumble backwards. The brunette quickly picked up the fallen photograph from the wooden slats on the ground, as she pressed her back up against the wall behind her defensively. She shook away the remaining glass shards from the shattered frame. Before examining the photograph with a curious eye. 

A rather plain looking young man, with mud coloured hair, smiled proudly as he held an elegantly decorated roll of paper to his chest. Dressed in the academic robes of his forebears. He seemed content in life, as he stood next to the young woman who was now laying dead on the cold floor. 

_Guess this has to be his graduation. Which means that the woman over there was probably his girlfriend or sister._ Lady thought to herself sadly. Her fingers tracing the wooden frame aimlessly. _If nothing is here, I should at least tell the authorities that she is dead. I can’t imagine what that poor guy must be going through, wondering if she is ok._

Carefully lowering the photograph to the floor. Lady’s observant eyes noticed a strange crack in the floorboards, that was seemingly covered up by the honey-coloured Persian rug placed on top of it.

 _Well that’s certainly suspicious! I’ve seen enough horror movies to know where this is going!_ Lady joked to herself. A slight smile forming on her lips. 

Pushing the coffee table aside and rolling up the Persian rug. Lady was pleasantly surprised to find what looked to be a trap door’s frame etched into the wood. She got down onto her knees and attempted to pull the door up. But found the wood to be too stiff to move, even after digging her fingernails into the cracks. 

“Crap!” Lady muttered, pulling back from the trap door. “You’re certainly playing hard to get, aren’t you?"

She needed something to pry that thing open. Her hands certainly weren’t cutting it, and she didn’t exactly want to sacrifice her nails for the cause. A crowbar would be good around about now! But she doubted any such thing would be lying about nearby….

“Oh why didn’t I think of that before!” She almost had to mentally slap herself for forgetting that she had a bayonet attached to the end of her rocket launcher. Getting up from the ground, the brunette swiftly pulled the hefty weapon off her back and rammed the bayonet’s sharp edge into the gap. After a moment of tension, the pressure applied to the wood past its maximum threshold, caused the trap door to crack open. A cloud of dust shot up and quickly overwhelmed Lady’s vision. She tried to fan some of it away from her face, but she couldn’t prevent it from reaching her lungs, causing her to cough a little. 

Once the dust had settled, the brunette hesitantly looked into the enclosed space. In the darkness her eyes soon met the glowing green of another.

“RAHHHHHHHH!” It screeched ear-bleedingly loud, as the creature launched itself at her. 

Lady threw herself backwards. Rocket launcher squarely aimed at the grotesque monster rising out of the darkness before her. 

Well….she certainly wouldn’t have to worry about contacting the male associate of the deceased women. As what remained of him hissed at her with savage intent. Half-composed of slime covered tentacles, and the other melted entirely into some weird fleshy goo. There was barely anything left of what could be considered that joyful young man in the photo; aside from his fang like teeth or human-like glowing green eyes. 

It began to encroach on her. Tentacles flailing wildly, crashing into surrounding furniture and reducing it to rubble. Lady fired off one rocket at its chest. But it had little effect in slowing its pace. She may as well have poked it with a stick, with how she'd riled it up into a more vicious fury!

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” She swore under breath, as she fired off yet another rocket. She sprinted towards the front door, desperately trying to maintain a safe distance from the lesser demon with little success. 

All of a sudden, the creature lurched out one of its black tentacles for her foot, as she got to the doorway. Thankfully, it found little success, as Lady swiftly stamped down hard on it with the heel of her boot. Causing the creature to wither in pain long enough for the brunette to make it out onto the alleyway. 

Backing away from the abandoned house as far as she could. Lady hid behind a pile of garbage. While the creature struggled to fit through the narrow doorway. 

_Ok, so it's immune to rockets. What else could work on it?_ The young woman examined hurriedly what was on her belt. Two grenades, her energy pistols and one med pack. _Maybe it doesn’t like the plasma from my pistols? Here’s hoping!_

A mighty crash sound rang out, as the creature practically broke off the flimsy front of the building. It sniffed around for a moment, black snot pouring from its deformed nose, until it successfully caught her scent. Letting out a horrifying roar, it charged her position on all fours. 

Lady frantically fired her pistols at it. Unfortunately, her paper-thin theory proved false, as the plasma equally had little effect on the creature. Simply covering it in a boiling white goo; its slimy skin seemingly immune to heat damage. 

_I’m going to die._ It was a morbid thought. But, as the lesser demons enormous shadow engulfed her small frame. Lady knew she had little time left in this world.

As black slime dripped down from the creature's watering mouth onto her white shirt. Lady closed her eyes, and expected her fate bravely….

“Oi! Since when has harassing pretty ladies become a common thing around here!” A boyish voice yelled out of nowhere. Lady could swear she could partially hear the smile in his tone. 

Snapping her eyes open. Lady watched in amazement, as something insanely fast and sharp, cleanly severed one of the creature's tentacles in the blink of an eye. 

The creature turned around to face this mysterious figure. Through the gaps in its dark tentacles, Lady could swear she saw a crimson glow emanating from the shadowy figure’s body. One so awfully similar to the green glow of the lesser demon’s eyes.

“Yeah! That’s it big guy! I’m the one you want!” Heckled the young sounding man. Slicing through several more tentacles this time, with what Lady assumed to be some kind of sword. 

In a matter of seconds, the mysterious young man had somehow managed to slice off every tentacle on the creature. With nothing to defend itself any longer. The lesser demon was powerless to stop the razor-sharp sword the man held, from impaling it directly in the heart. It fell to the ground with a pathetic whimper. Leaving Lady’s saviour to proudly stand atop the fallen creature. A playful, charming smile on his face, as he leaned against his glass-like, crimson-hued great sword.

Unfortunately, her saviour didn’t exactly get the reaction he was expecting. When Lady backed up against the alleyway wall behind her and aimed her pistols square at his head. Her heterochromatic eyes wide and fearful, as she realised who was standing before her. 

While they didn’t come down from their paradise often. Almost every human alive could name the key physical features of their demonic overlords. This demon was certainly no different. Easily fulfilling all those key traits with his unruly white hair, sharp blue eyes, pale skin, and stupidly handsome face. 

He had seemingly at least tried to hide his identity, if the red cowl he was wearing was anything to go by. It seemed connected to a loose-fitting red scarf, and oddly enough those two pieces of clothing made up most of the fabric on the young man's body. A short red vest with golden accents barely covered half of his chest, some black wrapping was apparently attempting to cover the rest of it with moderate amounts of success. But his softly toned, muscular midriff was still on glorious display to anyone looking at him. Though it was hard to tell whether that was accidental or on purpose. 

“You’re not taking me to be converted, you demonic bastard!” Lady screamed at him through gritted teeth. Her fingers tightening on the trigger of her gun. “You're gonna have to risk your life, if you wanna try!”

The demon raised his hands in defence.“Woah, woah, woah babe! I’m not gonna try anything like that! It's not even in my remit!”

“Well, why are you down here then?” Lady asked with a sneer. Gesturing towards the metal plate resting high above them. "You bastards don’t just come down here because you feel like it! There is always a goddamn reason!”

“I’m looking for my big brother! There!” The demon blurted out in a panic. “He went missing and I want to find him before my dad gets back home! He’s gonna kick my ass otherwise!"

Lady lowered her gun in confusion. “Your dad?” 

The demon's shoulders seemed to relax slightly when she lowered the gun. “Yeah! Sparda’s my old man! So you can probably imagine what he's like when pissed-“

“Lord Sparda is **_your_ ** dad?” Lady couldn’t just believe what this demon was saying! The Emperor’s second in command was this idiot’s father!

“I thought we already covered that, babe! Man, you’re slow!” The demon teased with a shit-eating grin, as he smoothly brushed back one of his long, silky locks from his face and tucked it behind his ear. Unaware of the young women turning bright red with rage.

“I’m. not. slow!” Lady growled furiously. Her brown hair practically standing up on end, like she was an enraged cat. "And stop calling me babe!”

“Well what should I call you then?” 

“Lady!” She hissed at him.

The white-haired man shrugged. “That’s no better than Babe anyway!” 

The brunette snapped at that. She raised her pistole once again and charged it up to max. “Just call me Lady, or I swear to god I’ll shove this gun so far up your pretty boy ass-“

“Ok! Ok! It's nice to meet you Lady!” His voice grew softer near the end, as he smiled brightly at her. Cautiously, the demon approached the young women and held out his hand in greeting.

Lady knew it would be rude to reject his offer of peace. And so with a sigh, she grabbed ahold of his hand, and let him pull her up. “You too I guess, uh…"

“Dante. Dante Sparda!” He introduced himself with a flamboyant bow. Like he were a prince trying to win over a fair maiden. 

Obviously this was quickly stone walled by Lady, as she pushed past him to examine at the slaughtered creature behind him. She bent down and curiously poked one of its severed slimy tentacles, before pulling away in disgust. “How on earth am I going to drag this back to Morrison?” She sighed in a defeated voice. 

“Morrison?” Dante inquired, behind her.

“I’m a mercenary for hire. Morrison is my boss.” Lady stated simply, as she attempted to pick up the viscous muscle with little success. Quickly slipping from her hands before she could leave it any higher than her ankle. “My client said he wanted evidence of this thing's death if I want my bonus.”

“Man that sounds though!” Dante prattled in a carefree voice. Before a guanine look of concern grew on his face, as he watched her struggle. “You need some help with that?”

Lady stared down at her slime soaked hands grimly. “Would be appreciated, yeah!”

Pulling his crimson great-sword from the lesser demons chest. He walked over to the tentacle and slammed his blade into it; like a butcher cutting meat, he carved out a pencil-sized chunk. He lent down and picked it up from the ground. Taking a moment to squeeze out its remaining juices in his vice-like grip, before tossing it at the young women. “That’ll work for you?”

Lady examined the tentacle in her hand for a moment, then nodded. “It should. Thanks…for the help.”

It honestly surprised her how kind this demon was being. Perhaps, it was wrong of her to assume they were all pompous assholes-

“The pleasure’s all mine babe!” Dante chirped, winking at her. 

Ok….maybe not.

* * *

Unfortunately for Lady, her time with that demon didn’t end there.

Before leaving the alleyway, Dante had practically begged her to let him come with her. He’d first tried the “Protection” angle. Saying that they were in a dangerous neighbourhood and somebody might hurt her. Needless to say, he almost got a face-full of plasma for that. Barely dodging her sudden shot with an superhumanly timed duck. 

After that, he quickly divulged his true reasoning for wanting to come with her. He wanted to meet Morrison. 

It was a fair reason, and Lady didn’t see anything particularly bad coming from them meeting. Aside from the demon possibly picking up Morrison’s crippling alcoholism. So, she’d allowed him to trail along behind her. Granted, he wasn’t exactly the most….inconspicuous figure with that stupid outfit. But, with his snowy hair covered up in a red scarf, nobody seemed to bother them as they headed back to the bar. Even when they passed that crowd of demonic worshipers. 

“Huh, so we’ve got cults down here now?” Dante muttered in a wistful voice, as he looked back over his shoulder at the large crowd.

Lady raised an eyebrow at that. Was he that sheltered? “Yeah! Did you not know that?”

The demon rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well, I’ve only been down here a few times on missions with my brother. Though, he normally drags my ass away from anything not related to our task."

“Probably a wise decision by him! God knows what those nutters would do if they realised a demon was in their presence.” Lady reasoned. Opening the bar door and ushering Dante inside.

As expected, Morrison quickly spotted them from the other side of the establishment. “Aye! You made it back! Nice work, little missy!” He cheered proudly, waving to the pair. 

Lady smiled brightly at the praise, and strolled over to the cluttered table. Throwing the slice of tentacle at her employer playfully. “Thanks. Was a lot tougher than I was expecting! I hope this paycheck is good.”

Morrison examined the tentacle in his hands for a moment, before nodding. “Yeah, this should do nicely! The money is all yours Lady. I’ll send it over now.” The man quickly tapped on his expensive looking watch, causing Lady’s phone to vibrate excitedly in her pocket. Signalling the transfer had been made. 

Lady pulled her phone from her pocket, and grinned like a child on Christmas Day when she saw the figure transferred. “Thanks Morrison!”

“Yeah yeah! I know!” Morrison said coyly. Waving his hand in a dismissive manner. "Now who’s this friend you’ve got standing behind you?”

“Somebody who I picked up along the way…” She didn’t exactly want to mention he was the one who killed that lesser demon. Even though the money had already been transferred, Lady didn’t want to disappoint Morrison with her inadequacy. “He said he wanted to meet you.”

“Well, I’m always open to new clients! Take a seat my friend!” Morrison said welcomingly. Gesturing to the wooden seat across from him. Dante complied with his request and sat down. Playing with the soft fabric of his scarf, and more over pulling it down further to obscure his face. He tried his best not to wither under the black man’s curious gaze, as he not-so-inconspicuously craned his neck down in an attempt to get a peak of what lay beneath the young man’s hood. “What can I do for you?”

Before Dante could open his mouth to speak. Lady quickly butted in; “I’ll leave you boys to discuss business! I’m going to get myself something nice with that bonus.”

“Fair enough! I’ll contact you if another job comes up” Morrison assured her. 

Lady nodded, and turned to leave. “Sure! See you soon Morrison!”

The bar door slammed shut soon after that...

Grabbing a nearby shot glass, Morrison poured a healthy dose of liquor into it. “Hey, you want some of this? It's the finest whiskey I could get my hands on.”

Dante thought about the man’s offer for a moment, as the black man downed the shot he had just poured. Normally, Vergil would berate him for drinking on the job. Something about how it was “unprofessional” - blah, blah blah! But since he wasn’t here. Dante realised he could do whatever the hell he pleased!

“Sure. Load me up!” He grinned rebelliously. Tapping his foot on the floor impatiently, as he waited for Morrison to pour his shot. Once the shot glass was filled to the brim, he slid it over to the young man. Its alcoholic contents spilling out across the table. Dante took ahold of the glass, and hesitantly raised it to his mouth. Resting his warm lips against the rim of the glass; like a man, he downed it in one swift movement. 

He immediately regretted his choice, as the liquid seemed to be more poison than pleasure - his throat burned with a feeling he hadn't known before, causing the young demon to cough and wince in pain. Sadly for him, coughing just caused some of the whiskey to make its way back up his throat, the pain starting to become eye-wateringly bad before he could even smash the glass back down onto the table.

“Holy shit that’s strong!” He rasped weakly, clutching his throat.

The black man bursted out in roaring laughter, slapping the wooden table joyously. “Oh man you crack me up! Guessing it's your first time?”

“Yeah.” Dante confessed shamefully. He was just thankful his hood hid his burning cheeks. 

“Ah don’t worry about it! All of us gotta start somewhere!” Morrison reached over and eagerly patted the young man’s cloaked shoulder. “Say, how about I give you this job of your’s on the house?”

“Well, it's not really a job per-se-” Crap, he needed to be careful with how he words this. He can’t exactly ask ‘Hey, has a demon in blue, who uses a katana he loves way too much, been spotted recently?’ That’ll just be too obvious!

Dante tapped his shot glass methodically to the rock and roll beat of the bar’s jukebox, as he tried to think of the right words to put in his mouth. Morrison sat there patiently, lighting up a cigar. A kind look in his dark eyes, that reassured the young man he could take as much time as he needed. 

“Has anything weird been happening recently? Around the last three days or so.” Dante asked in a quiet, yet direct voice. 

Morrison lent back in his chair. “Now that you talk about it. I did hear through the woodwork, that some crazy fucker had been hitting up all the citizen registration data centres across the city. Not sure why they’d want to do that! But apparently all security in these places were pretty much massacred by this guy! And man have the security corps been freaked out by that!” He paused for a moment to take a puff of his cigar. "They’ve been sending me offers left and right. Scrambling for mercenaries to make up the numbers they’ve been loosing! Good pay too! Dread to think how much that guy has been costing them!"

Dante froze up at the information he was hearing. Only one person, other than himself, could cause that kind of carnage. _Christ Verge! What the hell has gotten into you? You’ve never been like this!_

It seemed incredible to think that his soft-spoken, stoic, by the book older brother, could go off the rails like this in a matter of days. Slaughtering likely hundreds of humans on a bizarre and bloody crusade, that Dante couldn’t hope to understand. 

What did Vergil think he was accomplishing by all this? This certainly didn’t sound like an assignment the higher ups would give. At least not to a son of Sparda. Meaning that this was a personal mission by his brother. But, a personal vendetta against birth records and tax returns? Yeah, that was a weird target, even by his brother’s standards. 

_You always like to make things difficult for me, don’t you brother! Gotta add 5 more layers of complexity to everything you do!_ Dante sighed to himself. Sliding a hand underneath his hood to stroke his soft hair soothingly. 

“Know anything else past that?” He inquired. 

“Nah, I’m sorry kid. That’s all I know about the matter.” Morrison apologised, with a shrug. Dante thought that was then the end of that. Until, Morrison’s brow suddenly furrowed deeply in thought; leaving a sharp crease on his forehead. His index finger wiggling aimlessly in Dante’s direction. “Although, I do know somebody whose got more direct ties to these incidents.”

Dante perked up at that. “Oh?”

“Yeah! There’s a strip club owner near here, who's got some financial investments in a local security company. Apparently they got hit about a day ago by our mysterious killer.” Morrison dipped the end of his cigar in his ashtray with a satisfying crackle, before tapping off the excess ash. “I’m sure if you sweet talk her enough, she’ll probably show you the body cam footage. Doubt there is anything incriminating on there that would make her think otherwise.”

The way the man talked about this strip club owner, almost reminded Dante of the stiff and clinical pre-mission lectures he used to get from his superiors. With their verbal diarrhoea of information, he could barely remember half of it by the end. They used to annoy the shit out of him. Yet, there was something about how Morrison spoke - the way his rich accent embellished every word leaving his mouth - that made this pseudo-mission sound more like a thrilling adventure, than a duty expected of him. Something the hyperactive part of Dante’s heart had been craving, even since he’d started being sent out on missions in his early adolescence. 

“That seems like a good lead. Thanks Morrison!” Dante exulted, rising from his chair excitedly and spinning around to leave.

Suddenly, a warm hand snatched a hold of Dante’s muscular arm. Halting him in his tracks. The young man snapped his head back to the older man in confusion. Only to be met by a cheeky smirk playing on Morrison’s lips. 

“Forgot to mention, kid. You know that strip club I was talking about? Well, my girl Lady lives right next door to them!"

“Oh really?” Dante grinned devilishly, drawing emphasis on every syllable he spoke. Wanting to prolong the giddy feeling of childish mischief, bubbling up within his gut, for as long as possible. 

Morrison gently let go of Dante’s arm; allowing it to fall back to the demon's side effortlessly, before crossing his own dark arms across his broad chest. “Yeah! So do with that information as you will, lover boy!"

* * *

It didn’t take Dante too long to find Lady again. In fact, by lucky coincidence, they had practically walked into each other as he left the bar. With the demon narrowly missing her by an _ever so small_ margin. 

The brunette, however, wasn’t so blessed by Lady Luck. Both having the wondrous misfortune of running back into that obnoxious demon once again, and tripping up on his feet as he darted to the side of her. Sending the young women crashing to ground face first, alongside her shopping bag. 

“Oh god! Not you again!” Lady whined, as she pulled herself up from the cold ground. 

“I guess the fates don’t want us to be apart, babe!” Dante cooed in a dreamy voice. Leaning down to meet her enraged face, as he licked his lips sensually. “Now how about a kiss?”

Lady thrust the palm of her hand at his shadowy face, and pushed him away furiously. “Go fuck yourself, Dante!” 

Dante lost his balance at the sudden shove of his face, and fell to the ground beside her. Landing on his ass, hard. “Ow! Alright I’m just kidding!” He cried out, as he rubbed his sore backside. Hesitantly gazing up at the murderous brunette standing over him with a heartfelt grin. "It's good to see you again, Lady!"

“Yeah, you too.” She huffed in a sarcastic tone, turning away from him. The nerve this demon had! She wasn’t his hottie-hottie play thing to be flirted with! They’d only met two hours ago, for crying out loud! 

Lady began to march away from the fallen man, her boots clicking against ground at a rapid pace. Hoping to get as far away as possible from him; preferably back home where she could lock him out of her apartment. Unfortunately for her, upon realising she was leaving him, Dante had pulled himself from the ground and began to chase after her like an obnoxious loyal dog.

“So, what did you get with your bonus?” Dante asked eagerly. His inquisitive gaze aimed squarely at the wine red, paper bag in her hand. 

“That’s none of your business!” Lady barked over her shoulder. Pulling the paper bag closer to her side, defensively. 

“You wouldn’t have got that bonus without my help!” He reminded in a whiney voice.

He wasn’t exactly wrong about that. But Lady wasn’t going to back down now, as she spun around to face him. Pointing her finger at him accusingly. “What are you trying to get at here? Do you want something from me?”

Dante rubbed his smooth chin. “Well, now that you talk about it. I don’t have anywhere to crash tonight.” His playful aura soon dissipated, when he earned a furious glare from Lady, that practically bore through his very being. A deep scowl on her face. He quickly backed-down and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I, uh- didn’t really think that far ahead when I left.”

“Just get a hotel room. There’s plenty nearby-"

“I didn’t bring any money.” Dante stated awkwardly. He’d been in such a rush this morning. That had naively assumed he would find Vergil relatively quickly, and would be back home in time for dinner this evening. Of course, things turned out to be more complicated than he thought. And honestly, the demon couldn’t be asked to trek his way back up to the upper floors at this point. His legs were already killing him!

“You…didn’t bring money with you?” Lady asked in a softer, more kinder voice; that took the demon by surprise. A compassionate look to her delicate features, that for a moment, led Dante to believe that pity might prevail- 

"Christ! What do you demons get everything free up there!?” She fumed, gesturing to the plate above them.

“Not really. I’m…just an idiot” Dante confessed honestly, gazing down at his leather boots in shame. 

“At least you’ve admitted it.” Lady sighed, rolling her eyes. “Alright, you can stay one night. But no more than that!”

Dante rushed forward and embraced her, crushing her small frame against his chest. “Thanks Babe! You’re a lifesaver!”

The brunette froze at the sudden contact. Awkwardly resting her chin against his shoulder, as her thin arms remained prone by her sides. “If you keep calling me that you’re going to be sleeping with the trash outside!” She threatened in a muffled voice.

“Well I’ll just get to see what you’ve been throwing out! Let me guess; food, packaging, lingerie-“

“Oh you pervert!” Lady snapped, shoving the demon away from her. Causing Dante to stumble backwards into a middle-aged woman walking behind him. He quickly blurted out an apology to her, as Lady brushed down her skirt, and readjusted the strap of her rocket launcher. “Look, we best get going.”

“Yeah, yeah! I’m following ya!” Dante exclaimed. Lightly patting the middle-age women on the shoulder, and adding in a charming wink for good measure. Before rushing off after the brunette. His crimson scarf blowing gently in the wind, as the two of them departed down the bustling road of neon signs and packed shops. 

* * *

Lady had never been too keen to invite friends or co-workers to her home. The most obvious reason, one would assume, was a matter of her own personal safety. She’d made plenty of enemies throughout her career as a mercenary, and so she liked to keep her address a closely guarded secret to all but a close few, such as Morrison. But, there was a far more…embarrassing reason as to why she liked to keep her address under wraps.

“Love planet, huh?” Dante audibly muttered behind her. Lady froze on the spot and quickly spun around to find him gazing up at the establishment's garish neon sign. 

The sign itself was a wonder to behold, to say the least. Silhouettes of skimpily clad women flashed obnoxiously on and off, as they thrust their hips against the establishment's title. Proudly displayed in large pink letters, wrapping around the horizon of a mock planet. Dotted with love hearts, big and small, in every space imaginable. It took up the whole front of the building, leaving nothing but dirty, soot covered plaster behind the glitz and glamor.

 _Oh great. I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?_ Lady sighed deeply. Cringing internally, as she heard one of the holographic figures on display outside moan sensually. 

“Look, I already know what you're thinking, and yes, I do live next to a strip club.” Lady confessed in a defensive tone. Facepalming into her hand at the bullshit she expected to spout from Dante’s mouth in a moment, and not because she was trying to hide the heat rising to her cheeks. "Now, can we leave it at that-“

“Hey, do you think they serve food?” 

“What?” Lady yelped in surprise. Did…this demon not know the difference between a strip club and a restaurant!?

“I’m absolutely starving right now! I haven’t eaten since this morning!” Dante whimpered. Dramatically rubbing his bare, muscular torso, where his stomach would be. A childish pout on his full lips, that gave Lady the impression he was giving her his best puppy eyes, under that red hood of his. 

“Yeah they might? But I wouldn’t live by that. Come on, I’ll make you some food at home-“ Lady reached out to grab his arm, only to find empty air where he was previously standing. Startled, she quickly looked up to find the door to Love Planet slamming shut behind somebody. 

_Oh great! He’s already gone inside!_ Lady sighed to herself. Shaking her head in dismay.

She knew she couldn’t just leave him in there. His lack of money and impulsive attitude seemed like a recipe for disaster, if one of those strippers decided to take advantage of him. And even though she wasn’t particularly keen to help his sorry ass. Lady knew full well what it was like to be thrust out onto the cold, hard streets for the first time on your own; having no idea where to go or who to trust. Even if Dante was far older than she was at that time. 

"God dammit, Dante!” Lady swore under her breath, as she ran over to the strip club’s heavy doors and threw them wide open. Only to be blinded for a moment by a harsh strobe shining in her direction. 

_Ah! That’s bright!_ Lady thought, covering her eyes with the back of her hand. Hesitantly stepping forward into the darkness, as the doors behind her slammed shut, sending a cold draft rushing past her legs.

When the light finally span away from her, the brunette slowly lowered her hand. She was actually quite surprised by the clean, professional atmosphere of the operation before her. Not even looking half as scummy as she’d been imaging in her head.

A neon lit runway ran down the centre of the building. Flashing between colours red, pink and purple, to the beat of a loud, electric beat blasting over the speakers. Then there were the private booths hugging the walls surrounding it. Each one with a plush velvet curtain in a cutesy pink colour, that had been closed on a few of the booths. Implying that they were currently taken by someone

A large stage stood in the middle of all this. Where a woman in a tight fitting, sparkling purple bodysuit, danced provocatively around a pole in the centre of the stage. Her elegant crimson hair somehow maintained its perfect composure, as it swung through the air with each impressive acrobatic movement. 

After she had finished her final swing, the stripper slowly slid down the pole and lowered herself to the ground. Her dark high heels clicked against the artificial stage floor, as she strutted over to an eager observer of her’s, who had been watching her entire performance in awe. She bent down to him with a sinister smile on her lips. Letting their eyes meet for a moment, before she blew the man a kiss. Then, without another word, she departed backstage.

Just then, Lady’s mind finally caught up with her. She let out a silent scream as she realised who the mysterious observer was. 

“Dante! What the hell are you doing!” She exclaimed angrily. Storming over to the demon and grabbing ahold of his arm. Forcing him to turn around and face her.

"Can't a man appreciate a pretty lady every so often?” Dante said with a winning smile that somehow made him more punchable than before.

“Oh you’re such an idiot-“ Lady was cut off, as an intruding finger tapped her shoulder.

The brunette spun around, and found a rather doll-like young woman standing behind her. Dressed in a similar outfit as the stripper from earlier, although in primrose colour rather than dark purple, her golden locks were tied up into two twin ponytails sprouting out the back of her head. “Excuse me, are you two looking for an evening of excitement?”

This wasn’t good. Lady had heard plenty of horror stories from fellow mercenaries that had started like this. A nice girl comes up to them and asks if they need anything. And a few hours later, they wake up stark naked in an alleyway half way across town. Granted, she had Dante with her. But Lady really did not want to take that kind of risk right now. “Uh, not really-“

“Do you ladies do food?” Dante asked eagerly. Leaning forwards and shoving his way between the two girls. Leaving Lady stuck behind his broad torso, out of sight. 

“Oh yes~” The stripper purred. "We here at Love Planet provide anything our client wishes! Would you like me to fetch you some menus?"

“Yeah, that would be great! Thanks babe!” 

“No worries mister~” She chuckled, as she playfully clawed his chest. Before walking over to the nearby bar. Returning moments later with a set of pink, leather backed menus, that in Lady’s honest opinion could do with a few rounds of bleach chucked over them before they were safe to touch. 

The pink stripper led them over to a booth near the back of the club, right next to what Lady assumed to be the staff door to the backroom. She gestured for them to sit, and pulled open a draw underneath the raised platform the booth was on. Taking out a set of fluffy love heart-shaped pillows and plushies and handing them over to Lady with a wink. “We only get these out for couples. So enjoy!”

When the stripper left, Lady quickly threw a bat-shaped plushie at Dante’s head in a panic. “You take these! I don’t even want to think what some perverts have done to them!”

Dante picked up the bat plushie and held it to his chest lovingly. “Don’t listen to the mean woman, Alucard! She’s just making assumptions about your past! Those pretty ladies have treated you well, haven’t they?!” Dante cooed lovingly. 

“I can’t believe you dragged me in here! 10 years, and I’ve avoided coming in here all that time!” Lady grumbled, as she grabbed a hold of the pink menu and quickly flicked it open. Dropping it down to the table, so that she didn’t need to hold it any longer than she needed too. 

Dante soon joined her, flicking open his own menu and scanning through its contents. There was a peaceful silence between them. Neither making a sound, as the harsh, electric rock rang out across the club. Interspersed with girlish laughter and moaning from the booths around them. 

Yet, this was soon disrupted as Dante let out a surprised squeal of excitement. “Holy shit! They serve **_that_ ** here!”

Lady looked up from her menu in confusion, unsure of what could have caused such a joyous reaction from her partner. “What is it?” She asked mutely.

Dante turned his menu over and held it out for Lady to look at. Tapping the area of interest with one of his fingers. The brunette raised an eyebrow. “Pizza? What’s so special about that?”

She may as well have told him his dog died with how quickly his overjoyed facade dropped like a stone. Leaving an offended, almost violated look on his face. “How could you say that!?” He gasped, clutching his chest dramatically. “Pizza is the best food ever created!”

“Well if that’s the case, why are you so excited about it? Surely you’d have it all the time _upstairs_ if you liked it that much!” Lady countered, with what she thought was some pretty sound logic. "You demons certainly like to make it out as some sort of heavenly paradise!” 

The demon froze up on the spot. Seemingly not knowing what to do with the question posed to him. Lady thought this was rather strange, given that she hadn’t exactly a particularly hard or sensitive question. At least that’s what she thought. But the way Dante suddenly refused to meet her gaze, as he looked intently at the anything but her; be that the next round of strippers prancing around the runway with their hologram doubles, his pink menu or the sleazy table itself. Made Lady worry she had pushed him too far.

“Heh, well….we don’t actually need to eat.” Dante confessed quietly. Rubbing the back of his neck, with a sudden awkward smile. Pulling off the metaphorical bandage as quickly as possible. Knowing his cover had already been blown. 

Lady slammed the table with her hand. “Wait! SO YOU DRAGGED MY ASS IN HERE-“

“Shhh! Keep it down!” He hushed her, waving his hands around in surrender. Dante quickly looked around, hoping that Lady’s outburst hadn’t drawn too much attention to them. _Maybe_ should have told her the truth from the start. But it was far too late to do that now. Damage control was probably his best option right now, if he didn’t want to get shot at again. “I actually wanted to come here for a different reason. But, we’ll get to that in a minute!”

Lady glared at him for a moment longer, before leaning back in her seat. “Fine. Go on!”

Dante breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright,so because demons don’t really eat. We don’t have any kind of restaurants or takeaways of the sort up there. Meaning the only times I’ve been able to have Pizza is when I’ve been down here on assignment.” Dante explained. Putting down his menu to one side. "But that’s not to say that none of us eat! I mean, my household is kind of an exception as Eva cooks for us-

Lady raised her hand to stop him. “Wait, who’s Eva?”

“Oh! She’s our Nanny! Been in dad’s service since me and big bro were born!” Dante stated fondly. "Apparently our mum died around that time, so he was struggling to juggle his duties as a badass general and a single father. So he hired a human to look after us! A damn good decision too if I might add! Her cooking is the best! 

“She seems nice.” Lady smiled. Surprised he wasn’t acting like an irritating prick for once, and was actually opening up to her. “Didn’t think someone as well-respected as Lord Sparda would hire a human to work for him. Thought you demons had a policy against that kind of thing?”

His partner wasn’t wrong. Dante knew full well what the punishment for secretly housing a human on the upper floor was. Death or exile being the two most common. It still amazed him his dad even took the risk, when a demonic wet nurse would probably have far less repercussions down the line. But Dante certainly wouldn’t have it any other way. He and his brother loved Eva deeply, and would do anything to protect her. Even if it meant covering for her on a regular basis. 

"It's…kind of a secret. Any time somebody comes round to visit, she either hides in the kitchen or her bedroom upstairs until they are gone.” Dante admitted quietly.

Lady immediately picked up that this was a sensitive topic, and lowered her voice accordingly to all but a hushed whisper. "That sounds tough. Is she alright with that?”

Dante shrugged. “Yeah she’s grown used to it. Done it for so long now, I think it's become second nature to her."

It upset Lady that this was the way the world was. Here she was, thinking that she wasn’t following these demons' propaganda. Yet she’d equally been following their belief that humans and demons couldn’t co-exist together. That the arrogance and mistrust of both sides would make that impossible. But, the fact that Lord Sparda seemed to care for this human, letting her raise his children and keeping her hidden, just proved both her’s and the wider public's beliefs wrong. It broke Lady's heart that Eva must have been living in hiding all this time. Never once leaving the Sparda household or living some sort of life, simply because she wanted to help out a struggling individual, regardless of who they were. She was a true martyr in all respects. 

Lady wanted to say something. Anything to vent the boiling frustration building up inside of her at the world. But before she could open her mouth to speak, a deep feminine voice sliced through the secretive atmosphere between them.

“I see you’ve made yourself at home, sugar~”

The pair turned their heads towards the source of the voice. Before them stood the stripper in purple from earlier; still in her tight-fitting body suit, but now wearing a rich, black fur coat over herself. Her sharp auburn eyes contained an animalistic look of hunger, as she gazed over at Dante. 

The women stepped up into the booth, and closed the pink curtain behind her. She moved towards Dante and sat herself down next to him. The demon tried to slide away from her, moving further up the leather bench. But before he could make it very far, she’d grabbed ahold of his hood with her elegant hands and pulled it down in one swift movement. Revealing Dante’s white hair to the open air. 

“That’s much better. No more secrets between us~” The stripper purred in a hushed voice. Leaning in closer to Dante, and slipping her manicured fingers under his chin. Forcibly tilting his head towards her. Their faces uncomfortably close, as her warm breath tickled his lips. “You’re far too handsome to be covering yourself up like that-“

“Um, excuse me. Who are you?” Lady inquired, in only a mildly panicked voice. Hoping to god this stripper was trustworthy now that she had removed Dante’s hood. 

“Oh dear! Did I forget? My apologies little one~” The women chuckled lightly. Letting go of Dante’s chin. "My name is Nevan. I’m the owner of this establishment. Morrison told me to expect visitors-“ She looked back over at Dante, and bit down on her bottom lip fiercely. "I just didn’t expect them to be this good looking~"

“Thanks for the compliment babe!” Dante beamed brightly. “And yeah, this is the actual reason I wanted to come here. Morrison said this lovely woman had information on what my brother’s been up to."

Lady almost choked on her own breath at that sudden plot twist. _Wait, so he isn’t a pervy idiot? Is he actually carrying out competent detective work? Dammit Dante, you always seem to find a new way to amaze me._

“Oh? So _he’s_ your brother? How _very_ interesting…” Nevan smirked darkly. Her pretty chin resting in her hand, as her fingers methodically tapped her cheeks. “Yes, with that sort of information I think we can make a deal. But first, is there anything my girls can get you to make your stay more pleasurable?"

“Can you get us three rounds of Pizza?” Dante immediately requested in an eager voice. His boyish features filled with excitement, as he jumped at the older woman’s offer. 

“Of course! Anything for you sugar~” Nevan stuck her hand out through the plush pink curtains and clicked her fingers. A moment later, another stripper came to the curtain and the older woman whispered a series of orders to her. When she was finished, the stripper departed and Nevan turned back to her guests with a pleased nod. 

“Yes!” Dante cheered with a fist pump.

Lady was tempted to voice her annoyance about not getting to choose for herself. But given how happy Dante looked. She’d let him off for once. It had been awhile since she had indulged herself in a Pizza anyways. So no harm could come by having it again. 

Their order came in surprisingly quick, with Pizza arriving on their table within 5 minutes of having it ordered. Lady suspected they probably had warmed up some frozen Pizza in a microwave. But despite the lack of effort in cooking it, the food itself didn’t actually taste half bad! From the little Lady had nibbled from her slice, it was certainly passable. Maintain a satisfying stringy texture to the cheese, whilst the tomato base was just the right kind of sweet to not overload her taste buds. 

Dante meanwhile had already devoured half of his Pizza. He’s pale cheeks splattered with tomato sauce, as he happily hummed to himself in a muffled voice. Mouth stuffed to the brink with food. 

“Well aren’t you a hungry boy!” Nevan giggled, reaching for a nearby tissue. “Here, let me clean you up~”

Dante’s cheeks turned bright red as the sauce covered them, as Nevan wiped away the unwanted tomato sauce from his face. Gently patting his snowy hair, like a mother, when she was done cleaning him. “That’s a good boy~” She moaned softly. 

From across the table, Lady coughed abruptly. “So about this deal?”

“Ah yes!” Nevan exclaimed, clapping her hands together in realisation. “Ever since my... _s_ ide business was hit. I've been struggling with making an insurance claim to recoup my losses from that attack. While I’d normally be able to identify the assailant name or appearance. The way the attack took place...it's been hard for me to get any kind of real information on him.

Lady raised an eyebrow. “Hard?”

“It's probably better if I show you.” Nevan tapped the table with her knuckles, causing a sudden burst of light to emanate from it. When it dissipated, a holographic women laid across the table. Dressed in a black bikini that lead little to the imagination, she was posed like a model laying on a beach. Head turned towards Lady, with a childlike pout on her drop-dead gorgeous face. She wasn’t there for long however, as Nevan the swiped her elegant hand across the table surface and brought up a light blue, holographic keyboard. She began to type a series of commands into the console menu, causing the bikini model to vanish in a flurry of pixels. Replaced with the camera feed of a corridor

A group of armoured guards stood in a defensive line across the narrow corridor. Their assault rifles raised, as they seemingly shouted for someone to surrender. Suddenly, a flash of dark blue light flashed up across the screen, obscuring the camera feed for around two seconds, before it died down once again. But where several guards stood only a few seconds before, now lay their dismembered corpse sprawled out across the floor. As though they had been cut to pieces by a skilled butcher. 

_Oh god, I think I’m going to be sick!_ Lady had to forceable hold down her guts instinct reaction, as she threw a hand to her mouth. Her other grabbing the fluffy heart-shaped cushion beside her and clutching onto it tight to her chest. She had certainly seen her fair share of grim scenes in her time, but none as gruesome as this.

Dante, while not seeming particularly disturbed by the graphic scene, had a mixed look of uncharacteristic seriousness and disappointment in his blue eyes. Not for himself it seemed. But rather aimed towards someone else. “Yeah, that's Vergil. Nobody else uses that kind of combat style.” He confessed, painfully soft.

“Combat style?” Lady asked. Confusion clear in her shaky voice. 

“See the way those men have been cut to pieces?” Dante pointed at one of the more complete corpses, and traced the line of the cut across the man’s chest. "Only somebody who uses a katana could have made those slices. Which is my brother’s weapon of choice. Well, that and the blue glow are pretty big giveaways!”

“Why would a glow matter here? Surely, he could’ve just been flashing a torch at the camera.” The brunette questioned.

The white-haired man leaned back with an awkward smile on his face. “Heh, I could tell you. But it’s kind of a 'super confidential military secret’ that nobody is meant to know about!” Dante blurted out quickly. 

Nevan frowned at him, as her thick crimson locks sagged sadly around her pretty face. “Come on, sugar! You don’t want to disappoint me, do you?”

Dammit, he was always a sucker for a pretty women! Especially when she looked so heartbroken! Dante sighed to himself, as he ran a hand through his hair. What was the worst that could happen from telling them? It was common knowledge to pretty much any demon. So it would be hard to track back to him telling two humans about it, if any enemy city where to learn of its existence. Mundus would certainly hunt through the upper demonic rankings for treachery, before he’d think to look for a mercenary and a stripper.

“Alright.” He relented, with a playful eye role. “So you know how demons have genetic alterations done to them to make them superior to humans? Well…” Dante brushed back the long hair covering the back of his neck. Revealing a red chip inserted at the base of his skull. “At birth, demons are given a chip that allows them to command the nanobots in their bloodstreams, typically to assist them in battle. They serve all sorts of purposes, such as helping to heal wounds quicker than your average human-“

Lady held up her hand. “Wait? So those genetic alterations don’t jack shit other than give you white hair and a superiority complex?”

“Nah, they also help to increase muscle mass, slow ageing and other stuff.” Dante stated off-handedly. He wasn’t exactly sure what many of the alterations to his genetics did - given that he wasn’t a scientist. But he could guess a thing or two, from what he had observed throughout his lifetime. “But none of that’s important to what we are talking about here, babe!”

“Ok, carry on!” Lady prompted. At least somewhat satisfied by his answer. 

“When in battle, a demon can call upon these nanobots to “Trigger” into a stronger form. In other words, your skin up to your jawline turns into a metal exoskeleton and every sense becomes more enhanced. That, and the added strength you gain from it, are all pretty sweet! But man, does it tire you out the longer you stay like that!” Dante paused for a moment. His mouth still hanging open and twitching occasionally, as though he were debating with himself if it was ok to continue. “My….uh, brother used to always say it was because the lactic acid in your muscles go into overdrive, and we still haven’t found a way to clear it out fast enough."

“So you’ve done that before?” Lady asked. Pointing to the holographic image with her thumb. 

“With far less brutal murder of innocent people, yeah!” Dante shrugged nonchalantly. “See, the thing about “Triggering” is that a blast of light typically accompanies it. Mine’s red, but Vergil’s….”

“Is blue.” Lady finished his sentence. Now on the same line of thought as him. “Crap.”

“So that’s how he defeated my men so easily….” Nevan muttered to herself. Swiping her hand across the table once again to turn off the holographic display. Leaving the area far darker than the pair remembered, once the light had completely faded away. Nevan turned her head towards Dante, a business-like smile on her face. “Thank you for your insight, dear!" 

“No worries, babe! Hope that’s all you need.” Dante asked. Reaching down to grab another slice of now cold pizza and taking a bite out of it. 

“Yes, that should suffice!” Nevan nodded. Rising from her seat and turning to leave “I hope you two have a wonderful night!” With a small wave of goodbye to the pair. She departed through the plush curtains. Her long black, fur coat trailing behind her. 

* * *

After Lady finally managing to drag Dante out of that god-forsaken strip club. It wasn't long until the pair soon made their way back to Lady’s apartment. 

Climbing the stairway leading up from the busy street, Lady led Dante down a narrow corridor. When she arrived at her front door, the brunette hesitantly knocked, before drawing backwards to allow her home’s AI to identify her face.

 _“Authorisation?”_ It demanded in a robotic voice. 

_“_ Mary Arkham” She stated clearly. Causing Dante’s eyes to glance over at her in bewilderment. 

It was embarrassing that she always had to use her real name when talking to her AI. She had wanted to change it over to her new name. But since she had registered her apartment in “Mary’s” name. Her household AI, who was only programmed to recognise the “owner’s” name from the citizen’s registration network, would only answer to “Mary’s” name and not her own. Well…not unless she wanted to upgrade to a $250 monthly plan. Which she sure as hell wasn’t doing on her income!

After a brief moment of processing, her AI came back with an artificially cheery voice; _“Welcome home Mary! I hope you had a wonderful day!”_

The apartment's door, on queue, flew wide open. Lady stepped inside and wiped her feet on the doormat, before beckoning Dante to follow.

"Man, your place is small!" Dante blurted out, as he looked around the room.

"Well I didn't exactly have the fortune of being related to a top general.” Lady smirked, taking off her rocket launcher and leaning it against the wall once more. "It serves its purpose at least."

"Really? Then where the hell is the bed?!” Dante exclaimed. Throwing his arms up in confusion. 

Lady rolled her eyes at him. "Give me a second.” 

Dropping her shopping bag off on the kitchen counter. The brunette walked over to her sofa and removed the cotton, cream colored pillows covering it. Once they had been dumped to one side, she pressed a button on the underside of the armrest. Slowly but surely, a bed began to fold out from the sofa. Leaving a mattress, ready to be made, extended across the room. 

“Wait, so your sofa is a bed?” Dante gasped.

“Um…yeah?” Lady replied, not sure why he was so shocked by the concept of a sofa bed. They really must not have much in the way of vanity on the upper floor if he was that sheltered!

All of a sudden, the young man ran over to the sofa bed, and threw himself onto the mattress like an hyperactive child. The shoddy bed audibly groaning at the sudden weight that had been thrust upon it. Lady cringed at the high-pitched squeaking sounds, fearing the bed was on the brink of collapse, as Dante indulged in his childlike wonder. 

“This is the coolest thing ever!” Dante cheered, rolling around on the bed. “I’ve got to get Dad to buy one of these! It will totally piss Vergil off!”

He rolled around for another few minutes, before his explosive energy finally wore out. Leaving Dante sprawled out across the entire bed. His fallen red scarf trapped underneath his body, as his snowy hair now looked closer to a thick, fuzzy mane obscuring his pale face from sight, with how unashamedly disheveled it had become. 

“Alright Dante, you’ve had your fun! Now can you please get off?” Lady requested politely, poking the demons exposed hips with malicious intent. Causing him to squirm and curl into himself. “I need to put the blankets down."

Dante grunted and buried his face deep into the mattress “Do I have to, babe? Its so comfy~” He whined childishly.

“Yes.” Lady stated bluntly. "If not, I’m going to roll you off this bed, and you’ll be sleeping on the floor tonight!

Dante immediately stopped complaining, and pushed himself up in an instance. Sitting in an unnaturally stiff manner at the side of the bed. He looked over at Lady with a fearful look in his eyes. 

“See! That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Lady smiled, patting him on the shoulder like an approving mother. She walked over to a wicker basket near her TV, and pulled out a haphazardly wrapped blanket and two plump pillows. She carried them back over to her bed, and set about arranging them. 

Dante watched on in curiosity. Giving the pillows ,in particular, a quick squeeze to find that they were pleasantly soft to the touch. Just Lady was just about to throw the blanket up into the air and drape it over the bed, Dante quickly asked; “Hey, do you have a shower or something I can use?"

“Yeah, there is one in the bathroom over there! Feel free to use it.” Lady called over her shoulder. 

“Thanks, babe!” Dante cheered. Getting up from the sofa bed and strolling over to the small bathroom. Slamming the wooden door shut behind him, with an accompanying stratifying click of the metal lock. 

Despite her previous reservation about jumping on the sofa bed. Lady practically collapsed back on the thing when she was done with her work. She placed a tired hand over her eyes and rubbed them sleepily, as the soft sound of pattering water from the shower, gently drifted across the apartment.

“Hey Home, can you turn on the TV for me?” She yawned.

“ _Of course, Mary! What channel would you like me to play?”_ The artificial voice chirped happily. 

“Just any music one! Don’t really mind what genre.” Lady grumbled, as she tiredly stripped off her clothes. Leaving her in a tartan patterned bra and underwear. 

As soon as she'd finished speaking the command, the TV flashed to life. It immediately began to play an obnoxiously catchy pop song that was far too peppy for Lady’s tastes. Had she the energy, the mercenary would have asked her AI to change the channel in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, the warm embrace of sleep had already began to drag her down into its comforting embrace once again. Placing her beloved guns on the bedside table beside her. She crawled under the thick blanket, and closed her eyes. Letting thoughts of today wash over her. 

It still seemed weird that she had somehow met a demon today. One which she, out of all her good judgment, had invited to stay with her tonight. At the time she hadn’t thought much of it. But now that he was going to return in a few minutes, and would be sleeping beside her all of tonight. The reality of the situation dawned on her. Causing a deep-seated anxiety to claw at her gut. _Oh god! What have I done?_

But wait, this was Dante she was talking about. Nothing about him from what she had observed today - such as the childish glee she had seen him display at ever new thing he had encountered, or the playful banter that had erratically bounced between them, in a way that made him ever so endearing - pointed to him being like the demons of her nightmares. Even if Lady still distrusted him for what he was, she couldn’t deny that her worldview had been shaken to its core by today's events.

 _You know he_ _’_ _s a good person at heart._ A soft voice whispered in the back of her mind. _Regardless of his race, he still saved you from a brutal death. Just think of tonight as a way of showing that thankfulness. He deserves it after all that._

Just then, the bathroom door flew open. Steam seeped out from the room in waves, as a pale figure emerged from the mist. Lady peaked one eye open to find a shirtless Dante standing in the bathroom doorway. Thankfully, his modesty was still preserved by a large towel wrapped around his waist, as he roughly dried his soaking hair with a smaller towel. 

“Hey Lady. Are you still awake?” He asked in a hushed voice.

Lady opened her other eye and sat up. Pulling the thick blanket closer to her body in order to keep the room’s icy chill off her shoulders. “Yes. What is it?” 

Dante’s face grew comically flustered, as his blue eyes quickly darted between his now _very_ awake partner staring at him and the towel barely covering the lower half of his body. A tinge of red soon dusting his ghostly pale cheeks. “Umm….give me a moment!” He blurted out in a floundering voice, as he swiftly dashed back into the steamy bathroom. Re-emerging, a moment later, dressed in a pair of black boxers. 

The demon walked over to the bed, and sat down cross legged at its edge. He had his back to Lady; leaning forward slightly forwards with a subtle hunch, as his pale arms rested against his thighs. 

“When I was in the shower. I was thinking about our first meeting in that alleyway again, and something occurred to me.” Dante stated out of the blue. There was a hint of seriousness to his boyish voice that imminently demanded Lady’s attention with how atypical it sounded to her ears. She could only assume he had something heavy weighing on his mind.

“Something to do with that lesser demon?” She inquired. 

“No. It's about something you said.” He paused for a moment and took a deep breath. “Why don’t you want to be converted into a demon Lady?”

Lady froze up at his question. Her survival instincts screamed at her to assume the demon had the worst possible intentions behind his uncomfortable inquiry. _He’s going to take me to be converted. Oh god, I’ve let him isolate me. How could I be so stupid!_ Her eyes began to frantically scan the room for her pistols. _That bastard! He promised me he wouldn’t do anything like that!_

When she finally caught sight of her pistols, Lady realised she had made a grave error of judgment. Sure, they were by her bedside, just where she had left them. But they were on the other side of where Dante was sitting. Even if she lunged for them now, she didn’t have a chance in hell of reaching for them, before the demon's superhuman reflexes would stop her. _Shit!_

“Isn’t it obvious? I don’t want to end up like that lesser demon we fought today.” She responded in a flat, emotionless voice. Hoping she could delay the inevitable long enough to come with a plan. 

“But, that’s not the whole truth is it? There's more to it than just thinking we're all pricks, isn't there?” Dante asked, painfully soft. It was almost like he felt...sympathetic towards her. 

“What are you getting at?!” Lady sneered. Subtly clenching fists full of her blanket to hide her trembling hands. 

“You know, I’ve seen it in your eyes.” Dante suddenly turned around to face her. A mournful expression on his handsome face. "It's the same look I’ve seen my old man have whenever he comes back from a war."

What on earth was he talking about? How could she be anything like Lord Sparda? “Yeah? So what? I’ve never been to war in my life-"

“Has a demon ever hurt you, Lady?” Dante asked bluntly.

“No.” A lie. Though not an indirect one. She had been hurt by a demon of sorts. But she doubted Dante would even consider **_him_** as one, at least biologically. 

Dante shook his head. “You’re lying, babe.”

“No. I’m. Not!” Lady growled furiously in her defence. "Now can we please stop talking about this?”

“Nope! Not until you tell me the truth!” He said like an obnoxiously righteous child. He just didn’t know when to back down!

“I am telling the truth! God you're such a dick!” Lady countered, throwing her hands up into the air.

“Sure! But at least I’m not using makeup to cover up the large scar across my nose!” Dante declared, as he pointed an accusing finger at her nose. Lady’s face distorted in anger, twisting and tensing up, at the very idea of him taking advantage of her most personal deformity to win his petty argument. 

“OH FINE! You want me to tell you how I got it? My father was obsessed with you bastards! Totally swept up by your bullshit propaganda about being the pinnacle of evolution!” Lady couldn’t stop herself now. She wanted to confess every last ounce of hatred within her heart. To make him understand what she had gone through. "When he wasn’t chosen in one of those fucking ascension lotteries, he decided to take matters into his own hands! He became obsessed with becoming a demon. Spending most of my childhood trying to figure out what was being done to people during conversion procedures.”

Lady’s knuckles turned white with how tightly she was gripping the blanket now. “And then, he had the fucking balls to try out his insane theories on my mother! He tortured and mutilated her until she was nothing left but a hulking monster!”

“Lady…” Dante started sympathetically. But was unable to get much out as Lady practically screamed her heart bare to him.

"But that wasn’t enough for him! No. He saw that “experiment” as a success! That it was my mother’s weakness that prevented her from becoming a fully fledged demon. That she wasn’t worthy! So the arrogant bastard decided to test it out on himself!” Lady slammed her fist down on the soft bedding. “That night, when he began to experiment on himself. I discovered what was left of my mother in the basement. I-I freaked the fuck out when I saw what she had become. So in a panic I called the cops.” 

She began to tremble at the memories rushing back into her mind. Both her anger at the past and stark fear she was now re-living in the moment, swelled up in her glassy eyes. “But then, my dad found me on the phone. He screamed at me and tried to cut my throat with a paper knife; but he missed and slashed right across my nose. I ran and hid in a closet, as he prowled around the house, sniffing the air for my scent like a fucking animal. About an hour later, a division of the demonic military arrived and slaughtered my father in front of me.” 

Lady wiped furiously at her eyes with the palms of her hands. Desperately trying to keep the warm liquid escaping them out of sight from Dante. As she continued in a shaky voice. “I heard their superior officer order them to search the house and kill anyone on sight. I-I was so scared they would find me. So I-I had to hide in that c-closet for the w-whole night. Only able to look at my father’s manic grin of p-pleasure on his corpse, as I heard g...gunshots ring out from the basement and m-my mother’s distorted w-whimpers of pain!”

The brunette couldn’t hold back the tide of grief swelling up inside of her anymore. She broke into racking sobs that quickly overwhelmed her small body, causing her to convulse violently. She curled into herself, letting her dark hair stick to her wet cheeks and hide her face from sight.

“That’s why I hate demons. You bastards took everything from me!” Lady wailed. 

All of a sudden, two warm arms encircled her shoulders, and pulled her close to their broad chest. Startled, Lady looked up to find Dante’s gentle eyes gazing down. A bottomless well of sympathy sparkling in their watery blue depths. “I’m sorry that happened to you, Lady.”

He placed a hand behind her head and gently guided it towards his shoulder. Lady gladly took the opportunity to bury her face there. Finding the moist warmth of his wet skin oddly soothing. Mostly so she could pretend that the wetness against her cheek was shower water, rather than her own tears. As she let years of pent up sorrow escape her.

She didn’t even notice herself slipping into unconsciousness, until a comforting peace engulfed her. 

* * *

Meanwhile in a citizens registration data bank across town. A lone figure stood standing in front of a large, metal terminal, flicking through pages upon pages of data with the swipe of his hand, hovering above its screen. 

Despite the rooms clinical atmosphere - with sleek architectural angles, cool palette tones and monolith sized severs framed in blackout glass panning out in every direction imaginable. The floor was covered with the mutilated corpses of countless guards. Large pools of thick, crimson blood pooling across the once pristine marble floor, around the blue coated man. 

The figures’ hand paused for a moment in mid swipe, as the page of interest’s white light reflected in his sapphire eyes. All of a sudden he seized up in horror, and slammed his trembling hands down onto the terminals metal frame to hold his shocked body upright; his legs feeling like jelly beneath him. His eyes widening in unpleasant surprise, as a panicked expression took hold across his stoic features. 

“No! That can’t be right!” He exclaimed in a shaky voice, as he stumbled backwards away from the infernal machinery. Shaking his head violently in denial. 

He almost tripped up on a guards severed arm behind him, with how lost he became to his environment. It was then that he realised he needed to ground himself somehow. As overwhelming anxiety took hold of his body and clawed achingly at his gut - his erratic breathing becoming increasing laboured. He thrust his back against the terminal and slid down its triangular patterned metal frame, like a collapsed rag-doll. Curling into a tight ball and hiding his face in his legs. 

“Father, what have you done?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> Support is much appreciated! It always makes me so happy to see! \\(＾▽＾)/
> 
> Tumblr: https://louadorable126.tumblr.com


	2. Chapter 2 - Massacre in the Databank

“Boys~ Breakfast is ready!” 

The smoky musk of cooked bacon was potent throughout the house that morning, as Dante rushed down the manor’s grand stairwell. He was half dressed, only barely managing to get a plain white shirt over his head, before he sleepily stumbled into the kitchen. His guardian was never too pleased when he arrived shirtless at breakfast. 

“Mornin’ Eva.” Dante yawned tiredly, standing hunched over in the kitchen door frame. His vision was blurry with fatigue, as he gazed over at the charming woman, happily cooking on an old fashioned stove across the room. 

Upon hearing his voice, she spun around to face him with a flourish of her dress. “Ah! There you are Dante!” She beamed brightly.

Eva Redgrave was certainly a beautiful woman for her age. With her blond hair tied back into a loose ponytail; her deceivingly youthful face was on full display in the gentle, sunlight pouring in through the kitchen window. 

She wore a surprisingly formal dress, almost as though she had gone to a ball the previous night and was still wearing her tight fitted, delicately embroiled, golden dress. The collar being mainly composed of a see-through, skin coloured material - that made it look as though golden vines grew up around her neck. It was extremely impractical, but his old man never once questioned his Nanny’s choice of everyday clothing. Even if Dante suspected it was just a side effect of going mad from being trapped in this house all these years. 

Her gentle emerald gaze slipped past Dante for a moment - gazing beyond the kitchen door anxiously, despite the bright smile on her crimson lips. 

This minor eye movement didn’t go unnoticed however, as Dante started back at her with an equally fabricated smile. _She’s worrying about him again. Crap!_

Dante wasn’t exactly the most punctual of people. A fact that was well known throughout his family, and may as well be a law of nature at this point. He would always arrive late to anything remotely timed. Having barely a care in the world as onlookers would on in annoyance. It was part of his mystique, and he was proud of it. 

His brother, on the other hand, was the complete polar opposite. He was **_never_** late to even the most informal of meetings. In fact, he would most often be the one scolding Dante for his slacker antics.

So for him to either turn up **_late_ ** , or even **_miss_ ** breakfast entirely for four days straight - certainly hinted that something was amiss with Vergil. A fact, that while concerning for Dante, had practically sent Eva into a spiralling anxiety. 

He could clearly see how Eva’s hands were tightly clenched together. Her knuckles grew more white by the second, as she took more subtle glances behind Dante. Waiting impatiently for his brother to appear. So much so, she had completely forgotten about the steaming pan next to her - that looked as though it were about to catch on fire.

 _“_ Hey, uh- are you watching that pan?” Dante quickly pointed out. Gesturing to the pan with an awkward glance.

“Ah!” Almost imminently his nanny spun around and quickly turned off the stove. Hurriedly putting on a pair of floral oven gloves, that were hanging off the oven’s rail and swiftly moving the overheating pan onto a cooling mat beside her. “Phew! That was a close call! Thanks for reminding me!”

“Hey! No worries, Eva! Hopefully breakfast is still in one piece!” Dante chuckled heartily.

“Oh, I should think it is!” Eva reassured, waving away the cloud of smoke fuming up from the pan, and taking a quick peek inside. “In fact, I think it looks far better for it! The bacon seems remarkably crispy!” 

The blond woman grabbed a wooden spatula from a nearby pot of utensils, and poked the pan’s contents curiously. "I might have to do this more often...”

“What? Almost setting the house on fire? Don’t think dad will be too pleased!” Dante joked cheekily, as he walked over to his old fashioned, wooden seat and sat down. 

“You cheeky boy!” Eva smirked over her shoulder at him. Putting down her spatula on the kitchen counter’s sleek, marble surface. “You know your father could have this place rebuilt in a matter of days if he wanted it too!”

“Heh, you're not wrong about that!” 

And she wasn’t. 

Despite the rustic, old fashioned appearance of the Manor House. All it really was, was a collection trillions of nanobots arranged in the image of a grand home. Nothing Dante touched - be it the tiled floor he walked barefoot on, the wooden table he was currently resting his arms on, or the ornately carved ceiling above him - was actually real. 

It was a common technology used throughout the upper floor. Allowing for architectural wonders to be created, that by no means should be able to exist. It certainly showed off their technological prowess to all their neighbouring cities. But while the clean cut, clinical, futuristic style was most commonly used by any sane demonic architect. His dad was….far more flamboyant. Insisting that his house be styled off an old-fashioned Georgian manor house, surrounded by fine countryside for as far as the eye could see. 

Well…as far as the holo-deck's dome allowed anyway!

A few moments later, a plate of food - what looked to be a full English breakfast - appeared in Dante’s field of peripheral vision. Surprised, he quickly glanced up to find Eva smiling back at him, as she put down a pair of silverware beside him. When she turned back to the kitchen counter to load up a second plate of food. 

The demon picked up his knife and fork, and began to inhale the meal with ravenous glee. Tearing into the crispy strips of bacon and ripping them to shreds in a matter of seconds, before letting out a joyous sound of glee at its delicious taste. 

“Dante?” His nanny asked all of a sudden. Carefully placing down the second plate of breakfast next to Dante; before sitting down heavily on the wooden chair across from him, with a loud creak. 

“Yeah Eva?” He responded in a muffled voice. His mouth stuffed full of small mushrooms as he looked up at her. 

“Do you think Vergil’s going to come downstairs soon?” Eva asked nervously. Once again gazing out of the kitchen door with an anxious expression on her face.

Dante gulped down the remainder of his food and he slowly lowered his knife and fork. He knew he had to say something. Anything that could at least act as a gentle reassurance for her. Even if Dante himself couldn’t guarantee brother was actually going to show up at all. 

“He’s...probably just fixing up his hair. You know how Verge is about those kinds of things!” Dante slicked back his hair in a mocking fashion, before shrugging. “He’s a princess! Can’t leave the bathroom unless everything about him is perfect!”

“I can hear you, brother.” Snapped a familiar, nasally voice. Accompanied by the sound of the garden door slamming shut behind him. 

The pair quickly turned their heads at the sound. Finding Vergil standing there, the stark opposite in appearance to how his hot-headed brother had just lovingly jokes. To the point it made Dante’s hardened stomach feel grossly uneasy at the sight of him. 

He looked…exhausted. As though he had been running around all night without a wink of sleep. His deep blue eyes were bloodshot with fatigue; framed by heavy bags of skin drooping underneath. His usually pristine hair was a disheveled mess. Only barely managing to maintain its stubbornly slicked back form, as his stray, silvery locks dropped dead with exhaustion around their master's face. A face that clearly had remained unshaven for the past few days, if the stubble peaking up around his hard jawline were anything to go by. 

_Jesus christ Verge! Where the hell have you been?!_ Dante shouted loudly in his head. Opening up his mouth to let out a silent scream of shock at the state of his brother. 

“Ah….Good morning Vergil!” Eva exclaimed in a jolly, yet uncertain tone, as she got up from her chair and strolled over to him. It seemed as though he was struggling to keep his balance, leaning ever so slightly against the stone doorframe. Not seeming all that there, as Eva reached up to touch his cheek. Her fingertips barely making contact with his freezing skin. “Are you alright dear? You look far too pale-“

“It's none of your concern, Eva!” He growled angrily, as he grabbed a hold of her delicate wrist and ripped it away from his face. 

It only took him a second of contemplation, in the awkward silence that followed the shocking incident, to suddenly comprehend what he had just done. A horrified expression shooting up his face, as he quickly averted his blurry gaze towards the tiled ground; bowing his head shamefully before the blond woman. His voice painfully soft as he spoke; "I’m…..doing just fine.” 

He hesitantly stumbled past Eva, towards his usual chair. Taking a quick glance at Dante’s half eaten plate with a solemn gaze. “I see you've made breakfast. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it back sooner"

“Oh, don’t worry about it!” Eva reassured softly. Waving away his concerns with her hand. "I’ve only just served it up, so it should still be warm."

Vergil slumped down onto his chair, and ran a hand through his hair tiredly. After a moment of hesitation, he delicately picked up his fork and took an uneasy bite out of a slice of bacon. Dante could have sworn his twin was about to throw up, as he painstakingly gulped down his food, with an uncomfortable shiver. His face twisting in vile rejection of the substance entering his digestive system. 

_He can’t keep that up for long with Eva around. She’s going to expect him to eat the whole thing._ Dante quickly glanced up at his Nanny ideally twiddling her thumbs, as she patiently observed his twin eat from behind. _I’ve got to get her to leave somehow._

“Hey Eva, can you leave us for a bit? Kinda wanna to discuss _super_ secret military business with Verge!” Dante asked nonchalantly. Keeping a close eye on his ill-looking brother, as he struggled to down yet another bite of bacon. 

“Sure! The laundry should be done about now.” Eva nodded in agreement, strolling over to the kitchen door. "Enjoy your meal boys! I’ll be back soon!”

When the pair couldn’t hear the sound of her heels anymore, the brothers let out a collective sigh of relief. Vergil imminently put down his cutlery, and rubbed his aching temples with his thumbs. "Thank you, Dante. I wasn’t particularly in the mood for eating right now-“

“What the hell have you been up too!?” Dante snapped accusingly. Slamming his hand down onto the table. “You’ve been worrying Eva sick these past few days!”

Vergil was visibly taken aback by his brother's sudden outburst, a look of panic - with the slightest hint of guilt - sneaking onto his face for just a moment, until his usual stoic demeanor could take over again. His stern eyes now sent a cold glare towards Dante, defying any hint of emotion that he might have shown moments before.“Did no one inform you? I’ve been put on double shifts for assignments until father gets back from Vigrid.”

A lie. Even at the time, Dante had thought it odd his twin had been given assignments without him. Their father had forced his hand a long time ago, to allow for the pair to always be assigned to missions together. 

Sure, there had been times when they had been on separate missions. But that was normally because one of them was severely injured (Dante still swore it wasn’t his fault Vergil had fallen off that building. It...was just that the wind was far too strong that day!) and required a couple of days off to recuperate. 

~~It was only later, when he had been asking around dispatch, that he learnt that no missions had been posted for either of them. That Vergil had been making the whole thing up to hide what he had truly been up too. Why hadn’t he noticed sooner?~~

Yet, despite this foresight, Dante found himself blurting out a familiar set of lines without thinking. His eyebrows raised in suspicion; “Seems kinda strange that I wasn’t invited along for the party! You sure they didn’t want me too?"

“They….wanted someone with...negotiation skills. Somebody who could speak subtly with culture and nuance. Something I know you particularly struggle with, brother.” Vergil stated bluntly. A tired smirk playing on his lips.

“You wound me, bro!” Dante cried dramatically, clutching his chest with a childish pout. “Come on! You know the babes love me down there!”

Vergil ignored his younger twin’s ramblings, and shook his head with a sigh. “They didn’t want you, ok? Can we just leave it at that?”

“Sure! But seriously Verge, you’ve got to take better care of yourself. You’re a complete mess right now!” Dante gestured to all of Vergil’s unkempt being with his hand. A concerned look uncharacteristically etched into his boyish features. "I’ve never seen you look so- well…. _scruffy_! It's just so unlike you!”

Vergil looked incredibly self-conscious - as though he had only just become blatantly aware of the severity of his appearance. Without hesitating, he slicked back his messy locks with one hand. Trying to preserve what little of his dignity remained, as his ghostly pale cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. Awkwardly adjusting the embroidered cufflinks of his rich blue, velvet coat; as he spoke in a breathy voice, ladened with hidden stress beneath its surface: 

“I….I will, Dante. Just please give me a little more time-“

A cheerful knock at the kitchen door cut him off. Startled, the twins quickly turned face the door. Seeing the pale shadow of their matriarch peeking out behind it. 

“The washing’s done!” Eva’s gentle voice chirped from outside the room. “Am I allowed to come back in boys?"

“Yeah we’re good now, Eva! You can come back in!” Dante called out. 

A second or so later, their Nanny walked into the room holding a basket of washing under her arm; her golden ponytail flowing behind her. The clicking of her high heels swiftly came to a sudden stop however, when she caught sight of the boys untouched plates. She raised her eyebrow curiously.

“Have you been forgetting your food over all that military talk? You know life isn't just about fighting, boys! Even if your father certainly makes it seem that way these days."

 _Crap! I completely forgot about the food!_ Dante almost wanted to mentally slap himself for his stupidity - and given the searing glance Vergil gave him, he certainly wanted to do the same. As the pair awkwardly looked down at their now less-than-steaming plates. Neither not really knowing what to do. 

Dante began to rub the back of his neck sheepishly, as he blindly stumbled around his mind for a suitable cover answer. “Ah yeah…sorry about that-“

“I’m done with eating, Eva. I’m afraid my appetite isn’t exactly all that there today.” Vergil admitted honestly. Pushing his plate across the wooden table towards her.

Wordlessly, Eva slid her hand beneath its ceramic surface and lifted it from the table ever so slightly - looking as though she was going to simply head straight for the kitchen bin, and cast away the plate's delicious contents into its murky deaths. But when the plate simply hovered in the air, Eva gently placed a soothing hand onto Vergil’s broad shoulder. The elder twin let out a startled sound, and quickly tilted his head up to look at her.

“You know, that’s exactly what your father used to say to me.” Eva chuckled lovingly. A dreamy look in her gentle eyes, as she gazed down at the young man. Reminiscence of a distant past playing on her lips. “He'd often forget his food because he was talking so much back then.”

All of a sudden, Vergil’s muscles grew stiff beneath Eva’s fingertips. A strange look of horrifying realisation crossing his features, as though he had just solved some grand conspiracy theory - or at least gained a cursed insight into one, with how unsettled he appeared. His deep blue eyes wide in disbelief, as his pinkish lips trembled with temptation. A forbidden question itching to leave his mouth.

Without saying a word, he bluntly rose from his chair; causing Eva’s hand to slip pitifully from his shoulder. His face was clouded in shadow, as he practically ran out of the room and into the hallway.

“Hey Verge! Where the hell are you going?” Dante yelled, throwing his hands down onto the table and quickly rising from his chair, perusing his irrational twin. Rushing past the elegant nanny, who stood there in stunned silence, her fallen hand barely reaching out after the elder twin but soon retreating back to her side. An expression of hurt marring her beautiful features, as she shook her head mutely in defeat. 

Dante practically threw himself out into the grand hallway. His right shoulder colliding with the kitchen door painfully as he did so, causing a hiss of pain to escape his mouth. But he didn’t stop moving. He simply couldn’t. Vergil was never this irrational. Never this secretive. Something was horribly wrong, and every inch of Dante’s identical body screamed at him to do something about it. Even if that meant forcibly tackling his unstable twin to the ground, and forcing him to spill the beans before he tried something stupid!

“Vergil get back here!” Dante cried out, desperately trying to gain ground on his brother as the pair ran down the insanely long corridor. At least if felt that way to Dante. Every step his twin took, it felt as though he needed to take six more to catch up with him.

Yet, the younger twin’s pleas did nothing to slow his brother’s pace, as his long blue trench coat fluttered elegantly behind his fleeing form. Finally managing to reach the mansion’s ancient front door only to find it locked. 

_Now’s my chance!_ Dante thought determinedly, as a wild, fang-like grin appeared on his face. Watching his elder brother flounder with the out of place steel keypad beside the front door. Frantically tapping its buttons, with the occasional worried glanced over his shoulder; as Dante closed in on his helpless prey. 

Yet, just as Dante got within touching distance of his brother’s azure coat. Vergil spun around with an inhuman efficiency, and kneed his little brother **_hard_ ** in the crotch. 

“Aw, fuck!” Dante whimpered. His eyes rolling into the back of his head from the sheer pain emanating from his nether regions, as he crashed dramatically to the ground. Curling up into a tight ball as he withered in pain. All his previous bloodlust lost, as any remaining energy he had left drained from his body. 

Dante weakly lifted his head. His vision hazy from the pain and hair falling in front of his face, as he saw his brother’s silhouette standing over him. The bright artificial sunlight emanating out from behind him giving him a ghostly, almost angelic appearance. In a way that almost made Dante question whether he ever truly existed. As stupid as that thought was. 

“I’ll see you again soon….little brother” Vergil uttered ominously. Before he started to walk away into nothingness. The room now has a white box. Growing unbearably brighter and brighter with every second that passed.

“Vergil….you’ve gotta come back. Please!” Dante wheezed weakly, as he shakily reached into the plain white nothingness that now lay before him. His every cry growing quiet and quieter in comparison to the void’s high pitch buzzing. The sound of a heartbeat banging erratically in his ears like an overworked war drum. 

All of a sudden, the louder clatter of pots and pans crashing to the ground smashed through the nightmarish illusion; it's sound far too crisp and real compared to the floatiness unreality of the world around Dante. Soon accompanied by a familiar feminine voice yelling-

* * *

“SO YOUR JUST GOING TO BE LIKE THAT THEN, HUH? WELL SCREW YOU MINSTER CUPBOARD!” 

“Uh…wha?” Dante mumbled sleepy, incoherently patting the area around him with his hands. Finding the cold, hard floor he though he had been laying on replaced by the feeling of an impossibly soft mattress beneath him. 

He peaked one eye open, then the other. Finding himself gazing up at a rather plain curling, streaked with the odd ray of neon light escaping through the blackout shutters, in confusion. It certainly wasn’t the usual sunlight expected to see when he woke up. What the hell was going on?

Dante sat up and stretched his arms into the air, letting out a muffled sound of bliss as his joints cracked. The layers of blankets that had been piled over him, slipped down off his body and pooled down into his lap. Leaving his bare chest exposed to the room’s subtle chill. 

“Yeah! That’s it! Get. Back. Into. The. Cupboard!” The feminine voice huffed from across the room. Sounding as though she was struggling to hold something back. 

Dante turned his head toward the kitchenette; his long white hair swinging dramatically with his mundane movement. He caught sight of the brunette that he had met the previous day, now dressed in a bright red dressing gown, as she aggressively pushed her back against one of her kitchen doors. Even through the small crack between the door's hatches, Dante could see that the thing was bursting with kitchen utensils, pans and any other equipment a sane person would need to cook with. A look of concentration strained the young woman’s delicate features, she lifted up her knee and pressed it against the wooden door. 

_Oh right! I was in Lady’s apartment!_ Dante blatantly realised. Watching as the brunette gave one more massive push for victory, and finally managed to slam the troublesome cupboard shut. 

Stumbling away from the kitchenette, Lady stood deathly still as a tense silence filled the room. Anticipation for the cupboard flying open again, playing heavily at the back of the pair’s minds. Thankfully, when it didn’t, Lady gave out a joyous cry of victory. A bright smile on her face as she fist pumped the air triumphantly. 

_At least she’s looking a lot better than last night._

Dante clearly remembered the state she was in, as she bawled against her chest. Her pretty face puffy and red, streaked with avoidable tears. Eventually passing out and curling up on top of him. Leaving him trapped under her surprisingly heavy body. Not that he was complaining that much about that - given that it would act as a great piece of blackmail material down the line. But Dante certainly felt incredibly guilty for putting her in that position in the first place. He probably should have had a little more tact when he was asking her those questions about her distrust of demons - or at the very least, have kept his morbid curiosity on a tight leash! 

Just as Lady turned to open up her small, counter-top fridge. She noticed the very awake Dante starting back at her. 

“Good morning! Uh- sorry if I woke you up with that!” Lady greeted sheepishly. Raising her hand up in an awkward, half wave at him. 

“Nah, don’t sweat it! Wasn’t exactly having the best of dreams anyway!” Dante yawned, pushing himself up from the bed and walking over to the kitchenette. 

Like a curious puppy, he peeked his head over Lady’s shoulder. Watching in fasciation as she got out a box of eggs from her fridge, flipped open its lid and cracked two eggs on the side of her worn pan, already cooking two slices of bacon. Letting the shell's gelatinous contents drop into the pan with a splat. “So, whatcha doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m making breakfast!” Lady explained, glancing at the sleep deprived demon over her shoulder. “I’ll admit its not very often I have guests come around here. Let alone make breakfast for myself. So this is kind of a special occasion.”

“A special occasion, huh?” A teasing smile formed on Dante’s face at the idea. “Aw, geez Lady! What a way to reveal your feelings towards me- oooof!” 

Lady swung her leg backward and kicked him hard in the shins. Causing Dante to lose his balance and stumble backwards slightly. The brunette spun around, with spatula in hand, and pointed it at his bare chest accusingly. “You’ll be eating whatever's left in the trash if you keep that up.” 

Right on queue, Dante’s stomach rumbled loudly at her threat. He glanced down at his ravenous stomach, and rubbed it soothingly. Mentally reassuring it that it’s master wasn’t going to forfeit its meal on account of a cheap joke. He was going to treat his body better than that!

He looked back up at Lady with a sad pout, and nodded in defeat. “Understood.” 

“Good!” Lady smiled softly, turning back around and flipping the strips of bacon over. She then switched on a nearby toaster and inserted two slices of bread into its depths. 

It was around this time that a creeping feeling of Deja Vu began to crawl up Dante’s neck, as Lady repeated those events so vividly depicted in his dream. 

_Heh, maybe all this stress is finally getting to me! Perhaps you’ve granted me the power of foresight Verge! Although if that’s the case, I’ll just get to dream about kicking your ass tonight!_ Dante thought to himself jokingly. Sitting back down on the sofa bed with a gentle thud. 

Satisfied with her work, Lady put her hands onto her hips proudly. "Hey Home! Can you set an alarm for 5 minutes?” 

“ _Of course Mary! Timer starting now.”_ The apartment AI responded in a crisp voice.

Lady walked back over to the bed and sat down beside Dante. It was obvious who was the more awake of the two, as Lady sat up posture perfect, while Dante sat hunched over, rubbing his eyes tiredly - still refusing to put on a shirt. 

Well, at least that was the mercenary’s first assumption anyway! From what she had already observed of that dumbass, he probably didn’t even realise it was weird for him to be strutting around a strangers apartment half naked, the day after meeting them! But, no matter his intention. It still made the situation ridiculously awkward for Lady - who was desperately trying to glue her eyes to anything else in the room, that wasn’t the handsome, muscular demon sitting beside her-

 _God dammit! Pull yourself together woman!_ Lady berated herself sternly, as an embarrassing heat rushed to her cheeks - turning them bright red. _Just tell him to get dressed! Then you won’t have this issue!_

 _“_ Hey, Lady?” Dante asked in a soft voice.

“Yeah?” Lady responded quietly. Stubbornly looking over towards the bathroom door. 

The demon took a deep breath before speaking. “I’m… _really_ sorry about yesterday. I should’ve dropped the subject the moment you refused to talk.” Dante admitted sombrely. His head downcast in shame, as he cupped his hands together tightly in his lap. "It was cruel of me to….to well, force you to recount a tale like _that_.”

“Oh! No…really it's fine.” Lady blurted out, glancing over at him. “I mean, it was my choice to tell you about it. And well….honestly I feel a lot better for getting that weight off my shoulders.” 

The brunette sighed deeply, as she tried to process her complicated thoughts and put them into words he would understand. Rubbing her left arm awkwardly. “I know what people say. That telling others about your problems always helps. Until now, I always thought that was a load of bullshit. But, I suppose between meeting you - a real _demon_ in the flesh - and getting to express my feelings on the matter. I certainly feel a lot better for it.”

“You’ve never talked about it with anyone?” Dante murmured softly. 

"I….I think I’ve only ever told snippets of it to a couple of people. Never the full story…..so it was a cathartic experience if anything.” She turned her head towards the demon beside. A sad smile twitching up on her lips, as she spoke in a strained voice. "So thanks for that, Dante."

 _“The timer has finished Mary!”_ The apartments AI chimed in. Without another word, Lady got up from the sofa bed and walked over to the kitchenette. Switching the cooker off, and catching the two slices of bread as they popped out of the toaster. 

Dante watched as she served the meal up. Feeling a strange, uncomfortable honour, twisting in the back of his gut, at thought of being the first person to hear her traumatic tale in full. Not a title he particularly wanted to hold. But at least, Lady seemed to feel better for it. 

_You always used to say I was a ‘people person’ Eva. Guess that talent has finally come in handy. Poor girl. I can’t imagine what its like to live with a pain of that locked up inside of you for so many years._ Dante contemplated, with a mournful shake of his head. 

Just as Lady was finishing serving up breakfast, an obnoxious, old fashioned ringing sound began to pour into the apartment. _“Mary, you have an incoming call from Morrison. What would you like me to do about it?”_

The brunette raised an eyebrow in confusion at the strange phone call. Sure, it wasn’t uncommon for her employer to call her. Morrison loved that bar of his far too much, to get off his lazy ass and come see her in person, whenever he wanted to just have a ‘friendly chat’ or alert her to any new jobs coming up. But for him to be calling this early in the morning, either something had gone terribly wrong, or he was in one of his hangover depressions that required her to swaddle him with idle chatter till he past out again. 

“Answer call” Lady ordered. Putting down the knife, which she was using to butter her toast, on the countertop with a clank. 

Almost immediately Morrison’s abnormally hasty voice came blasting out of the apartment's speakers. _“Hey Lady! I’ve got an urgent job offer for you! Client's willing to pay a fuck ton, cause' some real shit went down last night-“_

“Woah! Woah! Woah! Slow down Morrison!” Lady exclaimed. Moving her arms in a calming motion, despite the fact he obviously couldn’t see. “What’s going on?”

_“You know the Styx ward in the middle city? Well a major datacenter over there got hit by some crazy motherfucker. Pretty much wiped out all the security forces who were on duty that night-”_

“Yeah, Dante was telling me all about that! Been happening a lot recently.” Lady said nonchalantly, Playing coy with the amount of information she actually knew. She didn’t think Dante would be too pleased, if she suddenly revealed to Morrison that the attacker was his brother - this ‘ _Vergil’_ \- without his permission. Especially when he was just sitting across the room from her; fully able to listen in to the conversation currently unfolding. "What’s made this so urgent?”

 _“Well, the security force that was assigned to protect that data center is owned by a guy called Modeus. Kid’s rich. Like_ ** _really_** _fucking rich!”_ Morrison paused for a moment, to do what Lady could assume was to take a puff of his cigar. _“Got massive holdings in some media conglomerates! Anyway, the long story short is that he’s caught word from your girl Nevan that Dante knows who the attacker is. Wants to have a meeting with the two of you, before he discusses the details of the job more thoroughly!”_

“Wait, Nevan told him about this? Oh come on! I really thought I could trust her!” Dante exclaimed in a whiny voice. Looking like a downtrodden puppy, as a hurt pout appeared on his full lips. His deep blue eyes downcast to the floor. “She promised me and everything!”

Lady could practically hear the teasing grin forming on the older man’s face. _"So you've Dante’s staying with you now? Gotta say I’m impressed little missy-"_

“Please shut up. He’s only staying here….for _awhile_.” Lady stressed, trying her best to save face in the awkward situation that demon had now put her in. Not even noticing her accidental allowance of a longer duration to Dante’s stay, in her mild panic over the stripper’s sudden betrayal of trust. “Do you have any idea how much Nevan told him?”

 _“Well, the most I could gather was that he simply knew an associate of one of my mercenaries, knew who the attacker was.”_ Morrison explained simply. Taking yet another puff of his cigar. _"Nothin’ more than that I’m afraid!'_

The pair let out a collective sigh of relief at that. It seemed at least that Nevan hadn’t leaked all the details of yesterday’s meeting. Something that Dante was particularly thankful for - given that he’d probably already have a bounty on his head from the military higher ups, if she had spilled the beans on **_that_** military secret he had told them. At least it was just an unfortunate circumstance she’d placed them in. One which now needed to be quickly resolved, before the demonic authorities got involved with the matter - if Vergil was pissing off some very wealthy humans. 

“Alright, we’ll be coming over to meet him then. Can you send me the location?” Lady inquired.

_“No need little missy! I’m already over there! Just track my location and you’ll find it."_

_He’s actually gone to meet the client in person? Damn, this has got to be serious business!_ Lady thought to herself. Gritting her teeth together in stress, as her hands curled into tight fists by her sides. It was far too early too early for her to be dealing with this shit! “Ok. We’ll see you soon, Morrison!”

 _“Aye same here, Lady! I’ll see you lovebirds later!”_ Morrison chuckled teasingly, in his deep, baritone voice.

Lady’s cheeks lit up bright red with embarrassment. “Oh god! Please just stop with that! He’s only staying with me cause' he’s an idiot who-"

Morrison had already hung up.

* * *

After catching the quickest monorail ride they could get, the pair soon arrived at the data centre. It was a massive, towering hulk of steel and glass on the middle layer of the city. A rare sign of status, wealth and it has possibly quite a few connections to the upper layer. The spire was wide enough at its base to comfortably fit Lady's entire neighbourhood, but even just walking closer to it made her feel out of place. The glare of neon signs she was used to from the lower levels of the city were all but gone. The path leading up to the main entrance was clean and wide, with gentle greenish-blue light strips illuminating her steps. It was impossible to see what went on inside the building as well, its entire outside was made up of triangular panes of mirrored glass, only reflecting a faint view of the city and the clouds, clouds which were pierced by the top of the tower. She wondered, could you see the sun from up there...

“Well isn’t this place fancy!” Dante whistled in amazement. Spinning his head around to look at every little detail he could lay his eyes on, the mosaic-like arched entrance way, hanging magnificently above them. “This has gotta be cleanest area I’ve seen on the lower floor-"

"Oi!” Lady snapped in offence; coming to a sudden, sharp halt beside him. Causing her to fall a few strides behind the now-hooded demon.“What exactly are you implying here?"

When Dante noticed there was only empty air beside him, he quickly pivoted around to face her. Realising after just one glance at her embittered features, that he was in for a whole world of pain if he didn’t choose his words _extremely_ carefully right now. “I-I mean your apartment is nice too! Uh…a little more _homely_ than this place. Doesn’t exactly make me feel like I’m about to go into surgery-“

“You’re really not helping yourself here, Dante.” Lady sighed in a rough voice brimming with anger; shaking her head in dismay. Dipping her head down so that her delicate face was completely hidden under the shadows of her dark hair. “Come on, we’re running late!”

Without another word, Lady marched off ahead of him with a frightening efficiency. Dante, obviously, attempted to chase after with the irate brunette into the sleek building. Finding himself quite impressed by what the human's anger was capable of. He struggled to catch up with her, even though he had a superhuman advantage over her biology. Eventually only managing to maintain a steady pace beside the fuming mercenary, he was practically jogging beside her. 

After asking around amongst the hordes of armed guards, now stationed around the building. A young man, who looked to be fairly new to his job, kindly showed them the way to the databank's server room in the centre of the building. Even as they approached the main server room, it was clear what kind of carnage Vergil had caused during his attack - as several forensic scientists stood gathered around an endless series of covered bodies lining the corridor. Each victims' blood lay splattered ruthlessly against the once pristine glass walls of the walkway. Overlooking a well maintained, gorgeous rose garden that lay beneath the tunnel. 

Lady couldn’t help but cringe in disgust at the sight of all this. The same nauseated feeling that had swelled within her gut last night, suddenly returned in full force - only this time cranked up to 11. The brunette quickly found herself suffocated by the lingering smell of decay. Only worsened by the unbearable heat of the area. Thanks to the sea of humanity sharing one another’s body heat in the compact area, as well as the greenhouse-like conditions of the architecture. 

It soon became too much for her. And so, just as they reached the end of the walkway, Lady pulled herself aside and leaned her feverishly hot forehead against the closest, cold, steel plated wall she could find. Dry heaving a few times, as she desperately tried to expel vomit from her system that had never truly formed. 

“Hey, can you stop for one minute?” Dante quickly asked, putting his pale hand on the young guard's onyx armoured shoulder-pad. Causing the guard’s march to come to a sudden halt.

“Uh, sure!” The young man responded in a voice high-pitched with youth. Nodding back at the hooded-demon, over his shoulder. 

“Cheers!” Dante thanked, before running over to his sickly companion. Sliding one of his muscular arms around her petite waist to keep her stable as her body convulsed violently. “Hey, I’ve got you babe! Just let it out.”

Unable to speak, the brunette nodded weakly in response. Dry heaving a few more times, before she started to return to herself again. Her sickly, pale skin returning to its usual colour in a matter of minutes. 

“Thanks for that Dante.” Lady smiled feebly. Pushing herself away from the dark, steel wall. Prompting Dante to drop his supporting arm from around her waist, and return it to his bare side sheepishly. She brushed herself down, and took a quick glance at the carnage that lay behind her. “God, it's such a fucking mess in there.”

“Yeah.” Dante uttered absentmindedly. He was seemingly lost in his own thoughts, staring blankly and emotionlessly at nothing in particular. From basic observation, Lady would have simply assumed he was completely unaffected by the gruesome scene, had she not noticed the excruciatingly tight fists by his sides. Trembling violently with some un-decipherable emotion. His sharp, claw-like fingernails came close to piercing his pale skin and drawing blood from beneath its surface. 

Suddenly, he spun around - his red scarf fluttering past her like an oversized butterfly as the demon grabbed Lady's arm without a warning, and pulled her with him. "Come on, let's go.”

The mercenary had no choice but to follow along with his gentle tugging, as she practically stumbled out of the glass corridor behind him. Not that Lady particularly minded his decision to leave that place, however. When all she wanted to do was bleach that gruesome walkway from her mind, and never have to think about it again- 

_Oh….this really isn’t much better._ Was the first thought to pass through Lady’s head, as her mis-matched eyes caught sight of the utter chaos of the room she had just walked into. 

It looked as though someone had sliced their way through a forest and left the trees right where they were cut down - except that these were no trees, but people. Some were already covered, some being put into body bags as the pair arrived. Yet more were still lying there uncovered and untended, their faces showing expressions ranging from fear to outright terror, some even having a pleading look in their dead eyes. 

Whoever did this had been very particular about their strikes - despite the cramped space between the massive network towers and the sheer amount of carnage, no cuts or other damages stained the electronics in the room. At most, they seem to have been sprayed with blood from the unfortunate guards stationed here, blood that was already being cleaned from the towers before their bodies were even taken away. People in lab coats were surveying the scene, presumably checking for damages, while yet more faceless guards stood watch over the corpses of their fallen coworkers.

Yet amongst the chaos, there was one particular set piece that was hard to miss. Over by the central terminal, a familiar black man with a cigar sticking out of his mouth, as he discussed business with a rather wealthy looking individual. If the two beefy armed guards towering behind him protectively, were any clue. It was clear he wasn’t a demon. The young man himself wasn’t all that much to look at compared to the ridiculously attractive imbecile standing beside Lady. That, coupled with his distinctive lack of white hair - instead having a mane of ebony hair cascading done his back in an orderly ponytail - clearly showed he was a human. 

Sure, thinking about it more critically, it seemed ridiculous to be having these kinds of insane doubts about the young man’s humanity. But it was hard not to think otherwise, when his tailored suitor and stoic, youthful face, gave off the aura of someone far more influential and powerful, than his actual standing in the city’s hierarchy. Even when looking at him from afar. 

After nodding in agreement to something the wealthy young man had said. Morrison turned his head and saw the two of them approaching the terminal. “Hey, good to see you guys made it!” He called out, stretching his arms out welcomingly.

The young man beside him looked towards the pair with a curious glint in his chestnut eyes. “So you must be Lady, and Dante? It's good to meet you.” He said in a surprisingly soft, yet business like fashion. He strolled forward, and held out his gloved hand in greeting. “My name's Modeus. Although I can assume your job broker has probably already told you that."

Lady reached out and grabbed ahold of his hand. Giving him the most firm handshake she could muster. Praying she wasn’t cutting off too much circulation from his hand in her nervous haste. “Yeah he has. But, it's nice to meet you in the flesh at any rate!"

“Its good to see your enthusiastic!” Modeus complimented, with a rather professional, stiff-looking smile etched onto his face. Quickly withdrawing his hand back to his side. "I suppose I should get down to business then.” 

He tilted his head towards the hooded demon. Gaze fully locked onto the Dante’s exposed chin beneath the shadows of his scarf. “I’m not going to ask you to disclose the identity of the attacker if you don’t want to, Dante. My associate Nevan was very clear about that fact when she informed me of the situation.” “But…as you can see around us, the longer we allow this attacker to continue his crusade against us. The more casualties will come of it...”

“So what do you want us to do then?” Lady asked simply. Putting her hands on her hips. Sensing there was more to this client's request than he was letting on - floating around the topic with corporate pleasantries and flowery language, rather than cutting straight to the point. 

Morrison coughed awkwardly into his hand. An unsettled look in his dark eyes, as looked out over the brunette’s shoulder at yet another faceless guard being zipped up in a body bag. “Well…uh…he wants you to-“

“I want you to hunt down and kill this attacker.” 

“No.” Dante objected bluntly. Causing all present to flinch in surprise at his harsh tone. He turned away from Modeus, looking as though he were about to leave. “Look, I’m sorry man! But we’re not taking this gig! Just drop it. The guy will probably stop attacking your stuff eventually-” 

“Hey slow down a minute, kid!” Morrison called out. Taking a moment to take another puff of his cigar. “You know, if you don’t take this job. He’s just giving the job to someone else otherwise!” 

_Give the job to someone else?_ It was something Dante hated to consider. Not that he particularly feared for his brother’s safety. The carnage surrounding them certainly proved that. But, the demon knew full well that whoever this guy hired after them, would most certainly meet the same fate as these dismembered guards, if they tried to pursue his brother. 

A heavy guilt began to weigh on Dante’s heart. He knew he couldn’t allow any unfortunate soul to meet _that cruel_ fate. It would just be cowardly for him to allow Modeus to throw endless mercenary canon fodder at his elder brother, when he could simply step in and resolve the situation himself. But at the same time, he also couldn’t just become a hitman for hire against his brother! As much as he joked about hating his cold-hearted, ice prince of a twin. Dante still loved Vergil deeply. _Great,_ _I_ _’_ _m in a catch 22 here!_

Dante spun back around with a deep sigh. It seemed as though Lady was equally uncomfortable with the idea of anyone taking on this kind of job, if the torn expression on her face was anything to go by. Her lips twisted in an uncomfortable grimace, as she tilted her head to look over at Dante. Their eyes locked onto one another, as a wordlessly conversation began between the two. After a moment or two of hasty glances towards the idly smoking black man. Lady nodded in agreement, and walked over to Morrison. Snatching his Cigar out of his hand. 

Startled, Morrison comedically looked down at his now empty callous hand, then back over at Lady. Suddenly realising what was going on. “I was using that-"

"Hey, mind if we talk about something private for a moment?” Lady interjected in an urgent voice. Moving the still crackling cigar behind her, and well out of Morrison’s reach, as he desperately reached out after it. “You can have this back afterwards!"

Morrison stopped his childish grasping for a moment to consider her preposition. His hand still hanging awkwardly in the air above her head. 

“Alright. You win little missy” Morrison sighed, backing down and putting his hands into his coat’s pocket. He turned towards Modeus- who stood there patiently tapping his foot on the marble floor - shaking his head like a defeated parent giving into their child’s demands. “Hey, I’m real sorry about this-“

“No, don’t be.” Modeus cut him off, with a dismissive wave of his hand "Go. Have your conversation with colleagues. I can wait."

After a hasty nod of thanks for his client’s patience. Morrison allowed Lady to grasp a hold of his coat’s sleeve, and drag him over to one of the room’s monolith severs, a fair distance away from Modeus’ prying ears. The demon in red was already standing over there with his back pressed against the server's glossy black surface - distortedly reflecting the approaching duo in its coating. Arms stubbornly crossed against his chest, with his head tilted downwards slightly - in all, he was looking more like some shady back alley drug dealer than someone who belonged in this very clinical environment.

When the two of them finally came to a stop in front of the demon. Dante lifted his head up, and beamed brightly at the brunette from beneath his crimson hood. “Thanks for doing that Lady.” 

“No worries!” Lady said. Putting her hands on her hips, as she turned to Morrison with an uncertain expression on her face. “So…I am not exactly sure what Dante’s already told you. But-“

“I haven’t told you the whole truth Morrison.” Dante confessed honestly. Rubbing the back of his neck. He began to feel a large lump forming in the back of his throat, as he struggled to admit the uncomfortable truth aloud. “That attacker….well, he’s my brother.”

Morrison raised an eyebrow at that. “Your brother?” 

“Yeah. And he’s- ok, we're _both_ sons of Lord Sparda.” Dante admitted sheepishly. Dropping his head down self-consciously, to further conceal himself in the shadows of his scarf, as a tech worker rushed past the group. Unfortunately, this didn’t exactly have the desired effect he was hoping for, as an incriminating lock of white hair flopped out from beneath his hood. Causing Morrison to gawk with surprise. "I’m gonna assume you can guess the rest from there.”

A moment of awkward silence followed in the wake of Dante’s revelation. Lady could’ve swore she could practically hear the clockwork in Morrison’s mind whirl to life. Slowly clicking the pieces of the puzzle together, as he ran a thoughtful hand through his thick beard.

“HOLY SHIT!” Morrison exclaimed. A panicked expression shooting up the black man's features, as the reality of the situation suddenly set in for him. Waving a disoriented finger in Dante’s direction. “Fuck, ok. Let me get this straight, kid! You’re telling me that the son of Emperor Mundus’ second in command is behind all this shit?!”

“Uh Morrison? Might wanna keep it down a little!" Lady commented in a hushed voice. Tensing up under the increasing scrutiny they were getting from nearby bystanders. Practically feeling their withering stares tickling the back of her pale neck. Not exactly a pleasant sensation to say the least.

“Sorry! Just….damn-“ Morrison reached up and rubbed his aching temples with the palm of his hand. Seemingly calming down from his loud outburst. “This just makes shit far more complicated now.”

At least Morrison was now on the same page as them. 

“Look, I’ve got no clue why the hell my big bro is doing any of this!” Dante sighed, in a stressed voice. "But you’ve gotta somehow convince Modeus to drop that job -or I don’t know! At least distract him for awhile!”

“Alright kid. Don’t sweat it.” Morrison said simply. Putting a gentle hand on Dante’s shoulder, with a reassuring nod. “I’ll see what I can do.” 

With that, Morrison departed. Marching across the room, like a man on a critical mission, over to Modeus. Entering a heated negotiation with the clean-cut young man.

“Well, let’s hope that's solved the problem for now!” Lady reassured hesitantly. Watching Morrison slide a friendly arm around a Modeus’ shoulders - seemingly deploying his more roguishly charming side. A rarely used, but powerful weapon the brunette knew was in his arsenal. 

“Yeah let's.” Dante mumbled beside her. Brushing back his fallen lock into the shadows of his crimson hood, before dramatically flopping back against the server behind him. Sliding down its sleek frame till he was sat on the floor, like a dropped rag doll. “Man, that was a close call! We’ve gotta find him soon. Don’t think Morrison or my dad, when he gets back, are going to be able to stave off word of this getting to the demonic military. And when that happens…”

Dante trailed off at the end there, as a violent shudder ran through his body. He damn well knew what the protocol for insurrection was, and-

He really did not want it to come down to **_that_ **.

All of a sudden, he felt a soft, warm weight lean against his right side. Lady was there, dropping down with her back against the server just like him. Bare legs pressed to her chest, blew a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. Even if she didn’t explicitly say it aloud, Dante could tell she was trying his best to cheer him up. As a peaceful silence fell over the pair. 

“You know, has it occurred to you, to maybe check what he was looking at?” Lady mumbled from beside him. Idly gazing over at the giant metal terminal in the centre of the room. Tapping the side of her cheek thoughtfully. “I mean, I doubt anyone’s touched the central terminal while they’ve been cleaning up this mess. So his search history should still be on there, at the very least!”

“You’re right!” Dante perked up in eureka. A feverish grin rapidly growing on his face, as the plausibility of her suggestion began to seem more realistic in his head the more he thought about it. Eventually, he couldn’t contain himself anymore; the demon excitedly grabbing Lady’s shoulders and pulling her into a bone-crushing hug. “Thanks Babe! You’re a genius!"

“Happy to be of service to you. But can you let go? I think you're crushing my lungs!” She cried out in a high-pitched voice. Struggling to keep her head above water - ok, it was actually his shoulder she was struggling to rest her chin against, not wanting to have her face crushed by his chest - as she gazed out at the growing number of bystanders staring at the couple. Many whispering into one another's ears; gossiping smirks appearing on some of their faces. Utterly mortifying for the poor brunette. 

“Aw, but they say a girl loves to speak in a higher-pitched voice for the guy she likes! You don’t want to leave me do you?” Dante teased.

“Oh shut up!” Lady snapped in a flustered voice; feeling a surge of heat rush to her cheeks in annoyance. Gritting her teeth in frustration, as she let her fury at her partner’s idiotic antics, fuel a sudden swell of strength in her muscles. Managing to free her thin arms from his hold, she let them slip down to his exposed hips, before pitching them. Hard. Causing the startled demon to instinctively lurch backwards in pain. “Now are you going to check that terminal or not?”

“Yeah yeah! I’m going!” Dante babbled, pushing himself up from the ground. 

Careful to keep his movements as discreet as possible, Dante hastily strolled across the room. He fiddled with the end of his crimson scarf, trying his best to make it seem as though he were mindlessly wandering about the place waiting for Morrison to be done. Taking ever so subtle, sudden turns as he wandered, to make it look as though he wasn’t heading straight for the terminal. Making a hasty, nimble-footed dash past the back side of Modeus and his two hulking bodyguards, while he was distracted by his heated negotiation with Morrison. 

Talking of the job-broker, Dante could have sworn Morrison had given him a sneaky wink of approval, over Modeus' tailored shoulder. What that wink was meant to symbolise, the demon had no clue. But it was nice to see Morrison was on side, regardless.

When Dante finally reached the terminal, he rested both his hands down onto its steel, metal frame. Allowing it to support his whole body weight, as he scanned the area for a way to turn the damn thing on!

 _Come on, there’s gotta be an on button or something around here!_ Dante though, leaning down to examine the underside of the terminal. Unfortunately, it seemed as though the terminal was an enclosed unit. Its wires, kept safely protected behind its metal casing bolted to the floor. And aside from the smooth layer of curved steel running along the underside of the monitor - that Dante traced with his pale hand - there was no clear way to activate the terminal. 

“Stupid piece of technology!” Dante hissed, slamming his fist down on the stubborn monitor in frustration. 

All of a sudden, Dante noticed a flash of light out of the corner of his eye. Upon closer inspection, he realised the terminals screen had somehow magically switched on at his abuse. The seal of the Emperor’s household, alongside the words “Welcome to the Citizen’s registration network”, were both clearly displayed against its pristine, white background. 

Giving the screen a brisk tap with the back of his knuckles, the demon watched as the screen faded away, only to return with a menu of options available at his fingertips. 

_Alright bro! Let’s see what kinda porn you've been looking at!_ Dante joked to himself crudely; a mischievous grin forming on his face, as he eagerly tapped the ’search history’ icon at the top right hand corner of the monitor. 

An electric current pulsed through Dante’s finger. 

Startled, the demon pulled his hand away from the console. _What the-_

He looked down at his shocked hand, cradled by the other again his chest, checking to see if it was ok. Thankfully, it seemed as though he hadn’t gotten any kind of electrical burn - the pale skin of his fingertips looking completely normal. But he had to admit, it was certainly weird that he’d even gotten that shock in the first place. Wasn’t this place meant to be state of the art?

His sharp eyes glanced back over at the malfunctioning console, finding it still stuck on the same menu screen as before. Weird. Perhaps he hadn’t hit that area properly with his finger? 

Against Dante’s better judgement, he hesitantly brought his hand back up to the console’s screen. Spamming the stubborn ’search history’ icon repeatedly - all leading to the same meaningless conclusion of nothing happening. As though the screen had completely frozen. 

_Well, shit._ Dante cursed. Not noticing the unnatural twitching of his cheek, as he grimaced. _Maybe I broke the thing when I slammed the screen-_

His legs gave out from under him.

The demon collapsed to the floor. Losing complete control of his body, as his limbs flailed uncontrollably. His torso and head going into spasms and convulsions. Thick drool poured out of his mouth in waves. 

“DANTE!” He heard Lady cry out in a distorted voice. He could faintly recognise the sound of people running over to him. A crowd of shadows surrounding his body - watching on in horror.

“Hey don’t touch him! Can anyone get me something soft I can use to support him?” The brunette commanded. 

“Here!” Morrison’s gruff voice yelled. A moment later, Dante could feel something soft being placed under his shaking head. 

“Don’t worry Dante, I’m here! You're going to be ok!” He heard Lady reassure from beside him; her soft voice tinged with powerful, trembling emotion. It was immensely reassuring to the helpless devil. Knowing that someone who cared about him was nearby, in what he thought were his final moments, as darkness consumed his vision whole. A feeling of weightless encompassing his whole being. Floating in a liminal realm-

~~_Da_~~ _Dan_

_~~Dant~~ _ ~~_Dante_~~

_~~Dante.~~_

  
  


~~_DANTE_~~

~~_Dante_~~

~~_Come find me, little brother._~~

* * *

Dante awoke gasping for air. 

His vision was blurry, making it hard to see where he was. But the fact he was conscious meant he was alive. Good.

Yet, what was not so good was the mystery to why he felt so wet. Granted, he didn’t actually wear much clothing - but what he did wear, like his trousers and socks, were utterly soaked through. For one horrible minute, the demon thought he might have pissed himself during…..well whatever that was. 

Curious as to what was going on, Dante began to feel his way around the area surrounding him. He seemed to be in some kinda metal tub, if the echo-like clanking from tapping it was anything to go by. Submerged in a mountain of ice cubes, that had been haphazardly piled on top of his body. Chilling him to his very core. _An ice bath? Why the hell would I need-_

“Ah kid! You’re awake!” A thickly accented southern woman cheered, from across the room. Strolling over to a disoriented Dante’s side, and resting her arms against the frame of the steel bathtub. “Good to see you're still in one piece. Been out for around nine hours!”

“Wha- What happened?” Dante asked weakly. Trying to push himself up into a sitting position. Cringing at the cold burn of the ice beneath his pale hand. 

“What happened? Heh, that’s kinda an understatement kid. What you should be asking is what didn’t happen!” The southern woman cackled. Her tired, elderly features, messy butterscotch coloured hair, tied back in a loose ponytail, and nondescript clothing, starting to come into focus the longer he stared at her. “Those nanobots inside you almost fried your body! Went completely crazy at the drop of a hat, when they were infected with a virus."

Dante raised an eyebrow at that. “Virus? I think you're kinda wrong there, miss! Demons are immune to-"

“A **_computer_ ** virus, dummy!” She heckled, reaching over Dante’s shoulder to unplug a thick, black cable from the chip in the back of his head. Causing an unnatural shiver to go shooting down his spine “Look I know this place may look like a surgery, but I’m not exactly a trained doctor!”

Well...that wasn’t disconcerting to hear at all. 

“Wait. Who are you, then?” He asked hesitantly. 

“Name’s Nell Goldstein. I’m an engineer in bionics and biohacking.” She introduced herself nonchalantly. Grabbing a small torch from a nearby bench and shining it directly into Dante’s blue eyes. Before then flicking it off and switching to the other. "Not gonna lie though, I do play both sides of the field. Both legal and illegal modifications. I-If you're ever interested of course!” 

“Uh, yeah maybe one day.” Dante blurted out off-handedly. Attempting to block out her piercing light with his hand. “Can you stop doing that?"

“Sure. You’re all good, by the way!” She said in a pleased voice, motherly voice. Putting down the torch on a nearby, metallic bench with a clank. Before patting his broad shoulder. “Damn lucky too!”

Lucky? What did she mean by that? 

Just as Dante opened his mouth to ask that very question. His partner came charging through the door in front of him. A relieved smile on her face, as she threw her arms around him, and pulled him into a tight hug. 

“Dante! You’re awake!” Lady cried in a joyous voice, filled with the lingering pent up grief. Her small body impossibly warm, compared to the freezing ice surrounding him. Like coming in into a toasty home on a cold wintery night. After a moment of embrace, she pulled back from the demon ever so slightly. A stern look in her heterochromatic eyes. “Fuck. You gave me a real scare, you know?!” 

“Don’t worry kid. Your friend's gonna be fine.” Nell reassured cheerfully, from behind. 

Lady completely let go of Dante’s shoulders, and spun around to look at the elderly woman. Half sitting on the steel bath’s rim. “Thank you so much for saving him!” 

“Hey no worries! And don’t worry about paying me.” Nell said with a gruff, yet kind smile. “I don’t get a job _this interesting_ very often. I’ll count that as the payment on its own!"

“What do you mean by that?” Dante asked curiously. Wrapping his bare arms across his chest as he shivered slightly.

Lady took a deep breath before speaking: “When you collapsed at the databank Dante, at first we thought you had a seizure. So we were going to call for an ambulance, when the central terminal bricked itself and turned off completely. Modeus quickly realised someone must have tampered with it, and said we should get you to a bionics expert. Thankfully, it seemed Morrison knew Nell over here.”

“Yeah, the two of them carried you over here on a stretcher. And man, were you in a bad state! Could have sworn you were going to melt the fabric of that stretcher, with how high your fever was!”

“Hence the ice bath.” Dante gasped in realisation. His boyish features lighting up joyfully, at finally understanding what the hell was going on. 

“Bingo, kid!” Nell cheered in her thick accent. Pointing finger guns at him approvingly. “When Lady mentioned you had nanobots inside you, I quickly hooked you up, and found that the virus infecting them was telling those bots to self-destruct on mass. You’d have been screwed, had I not found a backdoor to disable them. And that’s where it gets _real_ interesting!"

Nell reached over Dante’s head to grab a rather battered looking laptop - barely held together with peeling, aged duct tape. She spun the device around to show the pair its screen. An incoherent mess of tabs, containing lists upon lists of code."See, the backdoor had a DNA lock on it, so it could only be accessed by whoever first activated the virus. Something pretty common with this type of tech, given that you don’t wanna spring your own booby trap-"

The elderly woman quickly highlighted an area of code in neon blue, with her cursor. Before pulling up a different tab, and highlighting another section of code in neon red. It was only then, that it became apparent the technologically illiterate pair, that the code was _eerily similar_ in both. If not the exact same.

“To cut a long story short, as you can see Dante, your DNA was an _identical_ match to that of the hackers. Crazy right?” Nell exclaimed enthusiastically. Completely unaware of the young man freezing up in shock, as she continued to rant; “When I first saw that, I couldn’t help but laugh! I mean, what are the odds of that-“

“Vergil” Dante suddenly uttered; his brother’s name escaping his lips. He gazed down at his moist hands, as they curled into fists in his soggy lap. _Christ bro, you must’ve_ ** _really_** _not wanted the demonic authorities to see what you were looking at. What the hell do you want to keep so badly hidden, if you're willing to do that?_

But then, if Vergil was so insistent on nobody discovering the truth of what he had found, did he call for Dante to find him? That deep, nasally voice he heard in his lucid state, was most certainly his twin's. Yet, how sure could Dante be that it wasn’t a figment of his imagination? His overheating mind created a fever dream of what he wanted to hear - his brother’s voice once more!

No. That couldn't be right! The clarity of his brother's command and the formal directness of it, sounded far too much like Vergil for his mind to mimic. That, coupled with voice’s use of “little brother”, was far too similar to what his aloof, asshole of an older brother loved to use to show off his superiority in age. Even if it was only by a few minutes. 

So what on earth did his brother want with him? Why be so cryptic? 

_Come on Verge! You’ve got to give me something more than that!_ Dante asked wordlessly. Yet another shiver running through his body, as he grit his teeth tightly together. You c _an’t expect me to do all the hard work asshole!_

“Hey Nell?” Lady suddenly asked from beside him. Snapping Dante out of his thoughts. "So I know I’m pretty clueless at programming. But-“ She stopped for a moment and pointed her pale finger at a strange line of code, on one of the tabs hidden behind the rest, that seemed to glitch out every so often. Changing what was written there in a flash, before reverting back. "I can’t help but think that section just there looks a little weird.”

“Good point, now you mention it.” Nell remarked curiously. Moving to put on her elegant, golden framed glasses, hanging from a chain around her neck. Leaning around the Laptop to get a better view at what was going on

Suddenly, her auburn eyes widened, and she quickly spun the laptop around, in her arms, to face her. Balancing the machine on her knee, as she leaned her elderly form against the metal bathtub. “Give me a second, kid.”

The audible sound of keyboard keys being clacked echoed around the room. A look of eminence concentration on Nell’s worn face; brows furrowed and biting down on her lip furiously. Dante and Lady simply exchanged awkward, passing glances at one another, as they waited for her to finish. 

"Heh, well wouldn’t you know it?” She grinned excitedly. Looking over at the mercenary with a pleased look in her gentle, wrinkled eyes. "You weren’t wrong, kid! There is something here!"

“Oh Really?” Lady exclaimed. A stark look of surprise shooting up her face, at actually being right about something completely out of her field of expertise. Bending slightly over to see what was on Nell’s screen.

“Yeah. And they're coordinates of all things!” Nell quickly threw up a search engine and copied the series of numbers into its search bar. With a click of the enter key, it brought up the picture of a building Lady could’ve sworn she had seen someone where before. “For a skyscraper near here apparently!”

“He wants to meet me.” Dante gasped loudly. Causing the two women to turn their heads towards the soaked demon behind them, in confusion. Crap! He should probably give them some context to this, shouldn’t he? “Uh- when I passed out. I could’ve sworn I heard my bro’s voice telling me to come find him. Which, look, I know sounds kinda crazy! Believe me-”

“Of course it does! Why the hell would your brother put you into a coma, just so you could go visit him?” Lady questioned. She certainly had a rational point!

“Vergil….has a strange sense of humour?” Dante attempted to defend himself half-heartedly, with a shrug and an awkward grin. Unfortunately, that did not seem to calm the irate woman. Glaring at him with a look that practically screamed; “ _Are you kidding me!"_

“Now, he’s not entirely wrong Lady.” Nell soothed, placing a motherly hand on Lady’s dark hair and patting it. Causing the mercenary’s shoulders to relax a little, under her touch. “Look, I’ve seen some weird stuff today. And honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if something like that could happen. Might as well check out that lead! What else are you kids gonna be doing tonight, anyways? Go out on a date!”

“No!” Lady snapped adamantly. Her pale cheeks tinged with pink, as she turned away. Hiding her face in shadow behind her short, brown locks.“God! Why does everyone keep thinking that?!"

At that point, Dante couldn’t hold it in anymore, and burst out into hounding laughter. Slapping his moist trousers as he keeled over until his white hair was practically gliding across the icy waters surface. He desperately clawing at the black wrappings covering his chest - unable to get a hold of himself.

The mercenary began to turn an even brighter shade of red at his mockery. Reaching her last straw, Lady pointed a furious, trembling finger at him. “I’m gonna drop this laptop in there with you, if you don’t shut up, Dante!”

“Alright I’ll stop!” Dante wheezed in a breathy voice. Raising his hands in surrender. Not fancying getting electrocuted again today. “Guess we’ll stop by and pay my bro a visit then. If he’s even there!”

Just then, the demon pulled himself out of the ice bath. Gripping the steel rim of the basin, as he hesitantly lowered his foot down on solid ground again. Looking like a sad wet puppy, with how his long hair drooped down over his boyish face, as he shivered violently. 

Yet, despite his frozen form, he remained stubbornly valiant. As he immediately moved to grab his nearby crimson great-sword, leaned against Nell’s steel workbench on the other side of the room, and sheathed it onto his back. Elegantly putting on his, thankfully dry, red scarf around his head and shoulders with a magnificent flourish. Before charing out of room without a single care in the world. The shop's heavy door slamming shut behind him. 

Left alone in silence, the two women exchanged concerned glances at one another. 

“Does….he know where he’s going?” Nell asked in bemusement. 

Lady facepalmed and let out a long suffering sigh. “No.” 

“Heh, what an idiot!” Nell sniggered with a toothy grin, shaking her head in amusement. “Welp! You better chase after him then! I’ll send you the location!”

“Thanks Nell!” Lady gave the elderly woman a kind smile. She walked out of the room and picked up her rocket launcher she’d been leaning against a nearby wall, right by the shop's entrance. Having abandoned it there, in her haste to get Dante to help. She let out a small grunt, as she hauled the hefty weaponry over her slim shoulder. Allowing herself to become adjusted to its sudden weight pull in down on her back, while quickly adjusting its leather strap so that it wasn’t digging into her shoulder.

And with that, Lady darted out of the bionics shop, and fled down the street after her partner. 

* * *

“Dante! Wait up!” Lady cried out, breathless. Catching sight of her partner running ahead of her, after streets upon streets of chasing his arse. 

Thankfully, Dante seemed to pick up on her voice, and came to a sudden, sliding stop. He spun around. Tilting his head like a confused puppy as the brunette caught up with him. When she finally reached him, she buckled over and grabbed her knees tightly. Completely out of breath. 

“You’re such an idiot, you know?” Lady huffed out in annoyance, between ragged breaths. “Why did you run off before Nell had a chance to tell us where that building was? Did you even know where you were going just now?!”

“Not really. No.” Dante admitted bashfully. Realising his mistake. An awkward, toothy smirk forming on his boyish face beneath that hood, as he rubbed the back of his neck. Letting out an out of play chuckle. “Sorry babe! Think I just got overexcited at the possibility of seeing him again."

“At least you’ve admitted it!” Lady conceded. Her breath finally returning to normal, as she straightened herself back up. “Come on! You want me to show you where it is?”

“Yeah, that would be good! Thanks!” Dante chirped. Gesturing with his hand for Lady to lead the way. She nodded and started walking. Dante following loyally behind at a respectable distance. 

A ten or so minute walk later. The pair arrived outside the target building. 

Much like the databank, glass was certainly an architectural motif of this area. Large walls of the stuff rose from the ground. Curving up near the peak of the building, so that it looked like a lantern. Not helped by the neon light running up the four, sharp corners of the building, that looked like unnatural candlelight escaping from within its walls. 

It swiftly became apparent to the pair, when they entered the grand building’s lobby, that this place was a fully functioning hotel.

After awkwardly avoiding the lobby staff vying for their patronage. Dante slipped an arm under Lady’s and dragged her towards the ground floor's restroom. Coming to a stop just outside of it's sleek, modern doors. 

“A hotel. Great! Just what we needed when we’ve gotta search this whole place!” Dante kicked the ground in annoyance. 

“Look on the bright side! If this was an office block, there would probably a fuck ton more security.” Lady pointed out. Taking the opportunity to lean back against the wall behind her. Hands resting on her hips. “We’ll just need to be careful with how we precede. I’m assuming you can pretend to be a clueless guest if you get caught?”

“Uhhh…let me try!”

Dante coughed in preparation for his performance. 

“Oh? I not meant to be here?” He purred in a seductive voice. The innocent pout playing on his full lips, slowly morphing into a charming grin. “Well I guess it's just me and you then, babe! How about I show you my-“

“That's just flirting, Dante!” Lady facepalmed into her hands in dismay. “God! What if it's a guy who finds you?”

“You wound me, Lady!” He whined in offence. A look of feigned hurt on his handsome features, as he threw an open palm to his chest dramatically. “My charm's irresistible to either sex! I mean, you like me don’t you?”

 _Well-_ A voice in Lady’s mind started. Before it was stuck down by the rational side of her mind in a fury. _God he’s such an arrogant dick! What is he even thinking?_

Lady let out a deep, stressful sigh, before sliding her hands down her delicate face and gazing up at the demon. Who seemed to be none the wiser to her inner torment, as he clumsily avoided a rather well-dressed businessman leaving the toilet behind him. The two of them mumbling mindlessly apologies to one another, as the man past by. Walking off towards the elevator on the other side of the lobby.

The brunette followed the businessman’s movements. Finding herself gazing at a large silver sign placed on a wall between the two elevator shafts. It seemed as though this building had 61 floors, with the ground floor acting as its first, alongside a basement below that. A lot to search. But an idea quickly popped into Lady’s head. 

Poking the demon in red's arm to gain his attention. Dante turned to her. Finding Lady pointing directly at the floor sign with a determined look on her face. 

“Right, I’ll take the first 30 floors and you can take the top 30. Sounds good?” Lady proposed. 

“Sure!” Dante agreed. Giving her a cheeky, two fingered salute. “I’ll see you in a bit then!”

With that said, Lady watched as Dante dashed over to the elevator. Quickly sticking his arm through the door top stop it from closing, before getting inside with the businessman. Giving her a playful wink, just as the elevator's steel doors slammed shut. 

Left alone in the cramped compartment with the businessman. The two of them glanced at each other coyly. The businessman gazed at Dante’s exposed muscular torso with an eyebrow raised. The pair’s eyes eventually meeting for one awkward, fleeting moment, before they both hastily turned their attention back on the steel door. The stereotypical elevator music leaking out of crisp speakers, as the elevator began its ascent upwards.

* * *

It quickly became apparent to Dante that searching all 30 floors would just be a meaningless waste of time. After searching at least 15 floors, the demon had had enough with seeing the exact same endless hallways of hotel rooms. Each one identical from the last, give or take the odd cleaning cart. He highly doubted his twin was going to be anywhere around here. Vergil was always far more dramatic than to just stand outside the 46th floor elevator waiting for him!

And so, after his impatience had finally gotten the better, Dante decided to check the rooftop of the building, out of curiosity.

 _Alright! Let’s see what’s up here!_ Dante smirked to himself. Reaching for the rooftop door’s old fashioned handle. He pulled down on it and attempted to open the door. Only to find the damn thing stubbornly locked. _My luck’s not doing too good today, is it?_ _Crap!_

He quickly around the tight area he stood in, trying to see if there was any keypad he could fiddle with. Unfortunately it looked as though this door was sealed with an old fashioned lock and key system rather than anything high tech. Seeing there was no other option. Dante backed up a little, before performing a heavy jump kick at the door. Causing the thing to fly open with a bang. The cold wind of the outside world, now leaking into the corridor. 

With a fist pump of victory, Dante strolled out onto the rooftop.

“You showed up.” A familiar nasally voice greeted him.

Apparently he didn't even need to look to know that Dante had just stumbled onto the roof. There he was, his brother, overlooking the neon cityscape from up here like it was but his own balcony he was standing on. His long blue hooded coat, embroidered with gold and marred in places with red splotches of what Dante assumed to be the blood of all the guards they had seen earlier, now swinging gently in the wind, every so often revealing a glimpse of the sword he carried. Yamato. Just like himself, Vergil had been gifted with one of his father's swords - a sleek katana with a silvery sheath full of oriental detailing and mesmerizing patterns. It certainly fit into his aesthetic, and cut about as deeply as the cold Dante had just felt in his brother's words.

“Well you didn’t exactly leave the easiest of invitations, bro!” Dante pointed out. “Thanks for putting me into a coma by the way! Finally had a chance to catch up on my beauty sleep!”

His brother spun around to face him, with a smirk. “You certain don’t look any better.”

His frontal appearance was surprisingly regal, despite the exhausted, black bags he saw under his twin’s identical eyes. He still wore his old-fashioned, tight-fitted blue vest that clung to his torso - beneath which lay a white shirt, ever so slightly ruffled at its collar. It was surprising how well his brother had managed to modernise such an old fashioned style. Giving him a rather distinct, aristocratic look compared to the average person dressed more appropriately for this futuristic time period. 

“That’s besides the point, bro!” Dante brushed his comment off. "Anyway, where the hell have you been for the past week? You know, Eva’s been worrying-“

“Don’t speak of that woman!” 

Dante was taken aback by that. Physically jolting back in shock at his twin’s tone - Filled with such intense anger and resentment towards their nanny. A clawing feeling ripping into Dante’s heart at what his brother was implying… He’d never seen Vergil be like this. He had adored Eva. Always being the overly-protective one, telling him off for making the slightest of transgressions in her sanctified presence…. It hurt to see him insult her life this. 

Dante’s dark blue eyes drooped slightly in sorrowful concern. Brows furrowed deeply, as he gazed sadly at his uncomfortably rigid brother.

“Hey.” Dante uttered softly. Taking a hesitant step towards his twin."Vergil. Where did that come from?”

The demon in blue said nothing. His stoic, hardened features holding strong, as he glared icy daggers into Dante’s form. A minuscule twitch of discontent on his lips.

“I thought you loved her-”

“How could I love the woman who did **_this_** to us, Dante!” Vergil sneered in vile disgust. He glanced down at his gloved hand; trembling with powerful emotion. He curled it into an extremely tight fist. Before violently casting it away to his side. An immense strain on his face, as he struggled to keep himself composed. “I’m- we’re not-“

“There you are, Dante!” The demon glanced over his shoulder at the sound of the feminine voice. Finding Lady walking out onto the roof with relived smile on her face. One, which started to the falter, when she came to a sudden stop. Freezing up under the critical gaze of the two brothers. “Uh….did I walk in on something?”

“Who is _she_?” Vergil asked in a dark voice.

“A friend.” Dante defended. 

“ ** _Leave_** **_now_**."

“I don’t think I’ll be doing that!” Lady asserted stubbornly. Inching closer slightly to get a better look at the ghostly, identical man before her. “So you're Dante’s brother Verg-"

“I won’t tell you again, human!” Vergil growled through gritted teeth. Unsheathing his katana ever so slightly, so that it's cold steel shone dully in the artificial light. “ ** _Leave_**.”

“Hey! She can stay and hear this!” Dante put his arm out in front of Lady protectively. Manoeuvring himself so that his body was in front of the brunette.

“No she can’t, Dante!” Vergil insisted. His grip around his katana’s handle tightening, as he took a step forward. “Make her leave or **_I will!_** ”

“So you want a fight, eh?” Dante reached for the handle of Rebellion over his back. Unsheathing his own blade with a flourish, and pointing its sharp edge at his brother. A playful grin on his face, infuriating his twin further. “Alright Verge! Bring it!”

“Stop it, brother!” Vergil snapped in a serious voice. Seemingly frustrated by his inability to get through to his little brother. To say what he wanted to say. Yet, the blue demon did not back down from his aggressive stance. “Now is not the time for these foolish games-“

He didn’t get to finish his sentence, as Dante charged at him with a roaring battle cry. 

Vergil unsheathed his Yamato fully. A blast of blinding blue light erupted from his body, as his natural clothes began to rapidly dissolve away. An artificial outfit forming in its place. Acting like a second, metallic skin that rushed up to his pale jawline, and no further. A short armoured cloak materialised out from his shoulders. 

Usually the armour designs from triggering were relatively bland, kept in purely black or grey because colour hardly mattered to a combat outfit. Yet his brother had always had an unusually distinctive blue intermixed with these patterns. Thicker plates started to quickly form and rearrange themselves in protective patterns around the softer bits of Vergil’s body before coming to a stop and revealing his fully triggered form.

Dante threw himself at his brother. Not caring for how formidable he looked, as he swung his crimson great-sword straight at his chest. Yet, his brother parried him without missing a beat. Again, and again, and again. A violent dance of high level swordplay between the two. 

Lady couldn't but watch in awe, stumbled backward to escape their ferocious line of fire, as the two demons clashed against one another insanely fast. Too fast for her to see with her naked eye. The pair becoming just flashes of blue and red, her frantically darting eyes struggled to follow. The inhuman reaction time the two of them must have had, blew the mercenary's mind.

Yet for the two brothers, time seemed to flow normally for the pair of them in the heat of combat. It was not them rushing about. But, rather it was the neon lit world around them at almost a dizzying pace.

“You’ve gotten better bro!” Dante taunted playfully. Narrowly dodging, by the edge of his scaf’s hood, an overhead slash with a well timed duck. “Guess killing all those people really improved your skills!”

“Don’t chastise me, Dante!” His twin retorted coldly. Parrying a heavy strike at his metallic torso with masterful efficacy. A deep frown forming on his concentrated face. “Those peoples' deaths were necessary in the pursuit of the truth!”

“And what truth is that, huh?” Dante asked. “That your a **_monster_ ** who took their lives-“

Something seemed to snap inside Vergil the moment he said that. A volatile anger, the likes of which Dante had never seen before, possessing his twin. A savage bloodlust glinting his brother’s icy eyes, as suddenly, his strikes became much faster than what they had been before. The blue demon mercilessly slamming his katana down on his opponent. Sending sparks flying across the rooftop. Uncharacteristically, uncaring if he had left an opening for Dante to strike at, as he furiously beat his younger brother into submission. Dante struggling to keep his foothold-

His foot slipped out from under him. 

Without a second's hesitation, Vergil slammed Yamato’s sleek black sheath into Dante’s stomach. Sending the demon flying backwards. He crashed into an air conditioning unit. Crumpling its rigid metal upon impact. Steam pouring out everywhere, blinding Dante in a white mist.

 _Fuck that hurts!_ Dante thought weakly. Every inch of his body irradiating in pain as what remained of the nanobots inside him, struggled to stitch - his particularly bruised back and stomach area - back together. Curling his hand tightly around the handle of Rebellion, as he coughed up a surge of blood that shot up his throat. 

Well, he’s certainly managed to piss off his big brother! Granted, Dante was surprised he acted so volatility to his criticism of his recent actions. And sure, maybe he could have had a little more tact with how he presented his side of the argument! But Vergil had killed all those people. Hell, plenty more even before that on missions. So it was unlikely that was what was upsetting him.

And what a time to fuck it up too! He’d come _so_ close to Vergil revealing what he had been up to! No more deflection and actually getting some hard facts on the matter! Man, he was such an idiot wasn’t he? Perhaps Lady wasn’t entirely wrong about that. _This can’t get any worse-_

It was then, as the high winds of the rooftop blew around him and parted the mist. That Dante saw Vergil marching towards him. Yamato held elegantly out by his side. Its razor sharp edge glinting with its master’s murderous intent in the dull, artificial light surrounding them. Its mirror-like surface reflected the red demon's pale, blooded face in greater clarity; as its master drew closer with every step. 

_Shit I’ve gotta get up!_ In a panic, Dante desperately tried to push himself up from the cold, hard ground. Only to find his once strong arms were like jelly; giving out from under him in exhaustion when he tried to put pressure on them. His body’s energy reserves are too depleted to allow him to be anything less than a slumped over rag doll. He was a sitting duck-

“Hey! You’re not going anywhere near him!” Lady yelled. Dashing in front of her partner protectively, with her rocket launcher fully primed. Pointing it directly at the approaching demon. “You’ll have to go through me if you want him!”

Vergil came to a sudden halt at her words. His head held obnoxiously high, as he examined the young woman with a critical gaze. An amused smirk forming on his pinkish lips when he had finished his assessment of her. Giving Lady a weird sense of Deja vu, with how similar he looked to Dante in that moment.

“And you think I can’t cut through those measly rockets?” Vergil chuckled darkly. “You underestimate me, human!” 

Lady watched in horror as Vergil took another step forward. Completely immune to her threats. Her grip on the rocket launcher’s trigger tightening, as the pressure began to mount. She needed to think of something quickly!

“Sure! I’ve just seen your skill! Pretty impressive, I’ve gotta say!” Lady flattered him. Attempting to keep her voice smooth and nonchalant. Not wanting to show him a hint of weakness under that sharp gaze of his, despite feeling incredibly nervous. “But what you don’t realise is that this baby has been modified, so that it can fire several rockets in quick succession. You’ll soon be overwhelmed by it, if I put it on full blast!

Well…that wasn’t exactly true. She’s seen an upgrade for her rocket launcher that could do that, at a local weapons shop. Unfortunately, she had never had the time nor money to get said upgrade. 

_Please don’t call my bluff! Please don’t call my bluff!_ Lady prayed internally. As she watched Vergil’s confidant expression falter at her claim. He gazed down and away for a moment. A thoughtful look on his face, as though he was calculating the odds of him winning against her ’superior’ fire power. 

Suddenly, the auditable click of a sword being sheathed sang out across the rooftop. The mercenary watched in amazement, as Vergil’s combat suit vanished in a flurry of crystalline particles - being carried off into the night by the gentle wind. His regular, organic clothes returned and fell around his frame when they were realised.

“Fine. I’ll come no further.” He promised. Giving her a small, honourable nod. 

“Good!” Lady smiled brightly. Lowering her rocket launcher in return. "Now boys! Let’s talk this out civilly.” 

“Yeah I’m up for that!” Dante replied in a strained voice. Adjusting himself so that he was sitting up on his own accord, no longer leaning back against the destroyed air conditioning unit. A look of familial concern on his boyish features, as he gazed at his twin. “Seriously Verge, what is this all about? Look, maybe I was a bit too harsh before-“

“No, that’s not it.” Vergil insisted in a sorrowful voice, dismissing his little brother with a hand wave. He sighed deeply, and looked down at his beloved katana with a haunted look in his eyes. "You don’t want to know what I know, brother."

“Yes, I kinda would!” Dante retaliated. Slamming his blistered hand down on the rooftop in frustration. “Or are you just gonna keep me in the dark like you always do, Verge? You never tell me-"

“EVA’S OUR MOTHER, DANTE!” Vergil bellowed across the rooftop.

Silence. 

Tension drained from Vergil’s body the moment he spoke those words aloud. His body shaking weakly, as he ducked his head down shamefully. Unable to maintain his composure any longer.

“Wha-” Dante gasped wordlessly. His baby blue eyes wide and motionless, mouth gasp. The demon's mind unable to fully comprehend the information that had just been told to him. That everything he knew was a lie. **_She_ ** was a lie. “Wait….that would mean-“

“We’re half human, Dante.” Vergil explained, painfully soft. "We’re not pure blooded.” 

_No no no! That can’t be right!_

Dante refused to believe what he was hearing. He couldn’t be part human! If he was….he’d be an abomination to his race. An impure monster. Just like those lesser demons. God, no wonder Vergil had freaked out so much when he called him that!

Demonic superiority was something hard coded into demons from the moment they were born. Sure, in reality they were just genetically enhanced humans. But many liked to ignore that fact. Rather, there was a deep seated stigma towards those who had violated their bloodlines and intermingled with the **_other_**. Humans. Those half-breeds created from such a union, were often treated the same as a failed lesser demon. Something that should be hunted down as a threat to society and neutralised. 

But, Dante wasn’t like those monsters! He was a person! Fully sentient and aware of his actions! Rather good looking too, if he might add! It couldn’t be true-

“How can you know that for certain?” Dante asked in a desperate voice. “I-I mean dad would never lie to us! He said mum died in childbirth-"

“I saw our birth records at that datacenter.” Vergil cut him off. Tilting his head towards his brother with a solemn gaze in his eyes. “Someone had tampered with the originals, Dante. Saying that our mother’s name was Livia Sparda. A woman who by all accounts never existed. No matter how much I searched those records. But…when I finally uncovered the real copies-” He stopped for a moment. Struggling to let the words leave his lips. "It was _Eva Redgrave's_ signature that was slathered across the pages.” 

A sudden pain ripped through Dante’s heart at that confirmation of what he really didn’t want to hear. Yet at the same time, he was overjoyed to hear that he actually had a living, breathing mother. A mother, who had cared for him his whole life, without him ever realising it. A heavy burden, he was not even consciously aware of, being lifted from his shoulders. No longer having to morn a mum he never gotten the chance to meet - because she had been by his side the whole time!

 _She spent all those years looking after us, watching us grow up, and not once was she able to say she loved us. It must have killed her inside._ Dante realised. Letting out a shaky, unhappy sigh as he shook his head. 

“Only someone with demonic administrator access could change high level records like that. Meaning, father has been covering it up all this time.” At his confession of his father’s crimes, Vergil turned away in shame. At first looking as though he was slicking back his hair with his hand, when in reality, he was clutching clumps of his silvery locks in a tight fist. “Yet, in my blind search for the truth. I’ve put us all in terrible danger.”

Danger? What the hell was Vergil talking about?

“How so? You put that virus in the terminal! It certainly stopped me from seeing it!” Dante pointed out. Using his Rebellion to push himself up from the ground shakily - finally feeling sufficiently healed. Stumbling over beside Lady, who gave him a concerned glance. 

“Yes, but my actions brought far too much attention than I was hoping for. They are going to uncover what I found sooner or later, Dante. I cannot allow them to hurt our family.” Vergil looked down at Yamato in his hands. Lifting it up to chest height, before unsheathed the blade ever so slightly. He gazed solemnly at the handsome reflection staring back at him, within it’s mirror-like surface. Letting his eyelids droop shut, as he resigned himself to his fate. "So…tomorrow I’m going to return to the upper floor, and assassinate the Emperor.”

“Wha-“ Lady gasped.

“Woah! Verge!” Dante exclaimed. What the fuck kind of crack was his brother on? You couldn’t just walk into the heavily guarded imperial palace and do that kind of stuff! Not unless you expected a death sentence to be swiftly past on your head! “Look, I know you're worried and all! But that’s kind of a bit excessive-” 

“There’s no other choice!” Vergil growled in frustration; spinning around to face his brother. There was something not quite right about him. The sharp lines of his face, particularly around his cheekbones, seemed almost too unnatural, too gaunt. His complexion was a sickly white, while hidden tremors racked his body beneath the surface of his elegant clothing. By all accounts he looked like a porcelain doll on the verge of shattering. “Mundus will order us for our extermination the minute he catches word of what we are! Imagine it! The whole demonic military after us! And god knows what he’d do to Eva-“

“Yeah! But you’ll die if you try that!” Dante strode over to his idiot twin pleading. “Look there’s got to be another way, Vergil!”

“WHAT OTHER WAY, DANTE!?” Vergil snapped. His face a mess of emotions, teeth bared in a twisted grimace. Half-glaring, yet half-looking to his little brother for some semblance of guidance. 

Dante struggled for a moment. His mouth opening and closing again and again, as he to come up with a feasible, and overall better than in their hopeless situation, than just running to their deaths. In the end, only really deciding on the plan with the least to loose from it.

“We…We’ll wait until dad gets home.” Dante suggested in an uncertain voice. Meeting his brother’s eyes with a determined gaze. “Then we'll have a nice long chat with him about what to do.”

Vergil’s tense shoulders dropped a little at his suggestion. Still looking a little uncertain at the idea. “And what if we are found out before then? I doubt father would be allowed to return if that happens.”

“We could just cover up the evidence until then!” Lady suddenly chimed in. Walking over to the pair and standing in the empty space between them, finger raised. “You know! Like using duct tape to patch up a sinking ship-“

“Please don’t relate our household crisis to a sinking boat of all things.” Vergil huffed. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, as he shook his head in dismay. 

“Yeah Lady, maybe not the best metaphor right now!” Dante chuckled awkwardly. Patting her shoulder. “But, she’s not wrong. It’s kind of our only option right now! Well, aside from killing Mundus. Which you sure as hell aren’t doing, bro!”

“Alright….brother.” Vergil relented. His voice, light and breathy. “We...will do-“

Vergil’s eyes rolled up into the back of his head, as he swiftly collapsed to the ground with a thump. Exhaustion having finally caught up with him, after a week of sleeplessness. Now dragging him down and forcing him into a peaceful slumber. Blanketed by his deep blue coat, laying draped over his form. 

“That…was unexpected.” Lady blurted out. Breaking the silence that followed. 

“But he said yes!” Dante cheered. A bright, toothy grin on his face, as he turned to look at the brunette. “Guess your plan is ago, babe!”

Lady raised an eyebrow at Dante’s excitement. “Shouldn’t you maybe be worrying about your unconscious brother?” She gazed down at the slumbering man in blue. A trail of drool escaping out of his mouth, as he mumbled some inaudible sentence. 

She had to admit it was rather adorable, yet utterly hilarious to see the threatening, murderous demon from moments ago, reduced to that of a slumbering little boy. His pretty face was far too soft, and child-like in expression for his own good! She could’ve sworn the longer she stared at it, the more a strange compulsion to pitch his cute cheeks intensified. Eventually overwhelming her, as Lady's hand twitched to life; moving towards Vergil’s face-

“Ah right!” Dante interrupted. Causing the mercenary to quickly withdraw her hand and hide it behind her back, in a panic. Ducking her head in shame as heat rushed to her cheeks, as she realised what she was about to do. 

Dante, meanwhile, was completely oblivious. The demon in red wandered over to his twin, and slid his arms underneath the sophisticated young man's body. Scooping him up from the ground and holding him close to his chest in a bridal carry. He glanced down at Vergil’s slumbering form. Watching as the blue demon subconsciously buried his cheek into his twin's chest. A familial smile playing on Dante's rouge lips, as he brushed back a couple of snowy locks that had fallen onto his brother’s face. _Rest well, Verge. You sure as hell look like you need it!_

“Hey…so do you have another bed going free at your apartment?” Dante asked in a soft voice. Glancing back over at Lady, who was hoisting her rocket launcher back over her shoulder. 

“Sure! But one of you boys is going to have to take the floor, I’m afraid.” An offended look shot up Dante’s face at that. He was about to rebuke her, saying that was unfair - when Lady shrugged. “You’ve seen my sofa bed!”

“Yeah, guess you're right.” Dante pouted sadly. Turning away bashfully, as he looked out at the beautiful view of the artificial cityscape around them. “Hey…uh, thanks for saving me back there. Think Verge here would have turned me into shish kebab meat otherwise!”

“No problem!” Lady chirped, walking past him as she headed for the rooftop door. Rubbing her shoulders as a particularly icy gust of wind rushed across the roof. “Now are you going to get a move on or not? It's freezing up here!”

“I’m coming! I’m coming!” Dante called out over his shoulder. Turning around and chasing after the brunette. A tight hold over his slumbering brother in his arms. 

The three of them leaving the rooftop still in one piece. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! :D
> 
> Next chapter should be picking up from here, onwards!
> 
> Support is very much approached! <3
> 
> Tumblr: https://louadorable126.tumblr.com


	3. Chapter 3 - Reminiscence of a Catalyst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! :D
> 
> So welcome to the first official chapter of this Cyberpunk AU! 
> 
> As previously mentioned, this is a continuation of my Hanami Week AU story. So from here on out, the story will continue on from here! 
> 
> This chapter has been a fun, yet difficult one to write. First of all, I am mostly writing from the PoV of my baby boy Vergil. Who because of certain changes in this AU, has slightly different character motives from the canon. Thus having to adapt and figure out how he would react to certain things has been quite tricky! Then there is the matter of setting up the main arc for these next few chapters! Hopefully it will be good! But I’m quite nervous to see how it will turn out! uwu
> 
> Anyway, I’d love to see how people react to this AU! I know there isn’t really any sci-fi based ones in this fandom, so hopefully it will entertain!
> 
> But I won’t keep you any longer! Please enjoy!

For a cityscape covered by a roof, rain certainly seemed like a strange phenomena. 

During the installation of the upper floor hundreds of years ago. It soon became apparent that those on the lower floor were starting to grow restless at the loss of their skies. The loss of the sun. The loss of weather. 

Tensions between the humans and their new overlords were already strained to begin with, during this not-so-consensual partnership. And soon riots began to break out. Demanding that some sort of nature be returned to them. A small ask, but one that was hard fought by humanity. Thus a system of artificial rain was created to satisfy this desire, to feel the droplets of rain on their skin once more.

Dante certain wasn’t thankful for this, however. He was utterly soaked! 

_Come on! There’s gotta be one around here somewhere!_ Dante whined internally. For once in his life, he regretted how scantily clad he was dressed, as rain lashed at his exposed torso. His crimson scarf doing little to prevent dampness leaking through.

He hurriedly sprinted down a series of backroads. On a quest to find a very particular device he was in the need of. Tilting his head left and right, as he scanned each and every area to no avail, at most finding a not-so-hidden drug deal taking place, or a youth testing out their artistic talent with a spray paint can and stencil.

It was only after he ran a few dozen blocks away from Lady’s apartment did he find what he was looking for. 

Hidden away on a decent street corner, stood a phone booth. It wasn’t exactly in the best of condition, if Dante had to admit. Sections of its glass windows had been shattered. Peeling punk-rock stickers stuck on every inch of exposed rusted metal. Even the neon sign naming the box's purpose had half of its light not working. The simple word “phone” the only section now illuminated in Fluorescent blue.

But none of that mattered to the demon, as he quickly rushed over to the booth and stepped inside, carefully closing the door behind him. Letting a sigh of relief, as he heard the gentle patter of rainfall on the booth's tin roof. A vague protection from the elements. 

“Alright, let's see if this baby’s working!” Dante muttered to himself; grinning confidently. Slipping his pale hand into the change dropper flap and pulling out a small, silver coin; minted with the face of their ‘beloved’ emperor plastered over it. Before inserting it back into the machine with a satisfying clink.

Tapping a series of numbers into the machine’s metallic keypad, Dante causally leaned back against the phone booth's thin, glass walls. Holding the cracked, black plastic phone to his ear, as the gentle jingle of ringing sounds echoing like a choir in song filled the demon’s ears. Patiently for the other to pick his call up on the other end.

“Hello?” Greeted a soft, feminine voice.

“Hey Eva. Its me-“

“Oh Dante you're alright!” Eva cried out loudly. Causing Dante to pullback from the phone in surprise. Before quickly returning it to his ear, when he heard Eva’s light, breathy voice continue; "I was so worried that something had happened to you! You should have called me sooner, you know?!”

“Yeah, sorry about that! Things, uh….got a little complicated.” Dante admitted, with a sheepish smile. Twirling the phone line's curled wire in between his fingers. “I found Vergil by the way. He’s doing ok.”

“That’s good to hear!” Eva rejoiced. "Does that mean you boys will be coming home soon? I’ll start dinner if that’s the case-“

“Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Eva. But there’s some stuff me and Verge need to sort out here on the lower floor.” Dante explained in a low, gentle voice. Feeling bad for dashing his mother’s high hopes. “Think it's gonna be a while before we come back up topside."

“Oh.” Eva said simply. “Well that’s ok! You boys are at an age where you can fend for yourselves! I mean….I shouldn’t even be involving myself in such matters! But…if you could-“

“What is it Eva?” Dante asked softly. God! Why hadn’t he noticed how motherly she had sounded all these years?

“Can you come home when your father arrives back from Vigrid?” She requested. Her voice uncertain, yet interweaved with hints of eagerness. "I’m sure he’d love to see you!"

Dante nodded earnestly, regardless if his matriarch couldn’t see it. “Of course, Eva. We’ll do that, I promise!”

“Thank you, Dante.” Eva cooed in a pleased voice. Surprisingly clear despite the call's distorting static. “I know you probably have business to take care of. So I won’t keep you any longer!”

_Wait-_

Dante opened his mouth to speak. A desperate longing to keep this conversation going overwhelming him, as a surge of pent up emotions swelled within his gut. Driving him to admit the truth in his heart. 

He wanted to tell Eva that he knew she was his mother. That he didn’t feel any sort of hatred towards her for her actions. That he felt incredibly sorry that she had to watch them grow up, without being able to show the slightest bit of motherly affection. Always having to remain so professional and stoic. That he had treated her as simply a nanny, when deep down, he had always known there were stronger, bolder, richer feelings there-

But he knew he couldn’t say any of this. These were forbidden words. Ones that demonic authorities would quickly pick up on, as an un-encrypted call going to the upper floor. 

And if it weren’t the demonic military that would deal a swift end to him, if he said any of this. It sure as hell would be his elder brother, once sleeping beauty had awoken from his slumber!

“Sure. See ya soon, Eva.” Dante uttered in a strained voice.

“Goodbye Dante.” His mother said sweetly, before putting down the phone. 

The demon put his phone back on its shoddy metal stand, with a clank. Sighing deeply, he dropped his head down and leaned his forehead against the cool, glass pane across from him; several locks of long snowy hair flopping out from under his damp, red hood. A swirl of complex emotions overwhelming him. Leaving him unable to move, as he desperately tried to process them. 

_We’ve got some work to do. Haven’t we Verge?_

* * *

Soft.

It was the first thing that occurred to Vergil, as he started to rise to consciousness. 

Everything around him was impossibly soft. Pushing against his aching back in all the right places - providing it with ample support. And warm. Oh so warm! Having spent the longest time running around investigating his origin. He had completely forgotten this blissful feeling. 

Slowly but surely he opened his eyes, letting out an annoyed grunt when piercing light overwhelmed his blurry vision. He turned his head and buried it into the plush pillow beneath his head. Refusing to leave its warm, dark embrace until he felt comfortable facing that wretched light source again. Which was going to be never as far as he was concerned-

“Hey sleeping beauty! You’re awake!” An energetic voice exclaimed nearby. “Don’t pretend you're asleep! I heard that grunt!"

At the sound of the unknown, feminine voice. Vergil shot up, alert. Frantically scanning the area around him, with an increasing sense of panic when he didn’t recognise where he was. A small apartment of some sorts, with a brown-haired woman standing next to his bedside idly. 

Not caring for how blurry his vision was, Vergil frantically patted the area around him for Yamato. Every inch of him screaming to defend himself against this stranger. His deep blue eyes dashing left to right, finding nothing but pure white blankets surrounding him. A strangulating tightness growing in the back of his throat, the longer he couldn’t find his beloved sword. Cutting off his airflow inch by inch-

His pale hand landed on his blade's sleek black case. Its elegant form having been left leaning against his bedside.

In a flash, he pulled the blade on the woman. Holding its razor-sharp tip against the delicate flesh of her throat, as he glared up at her. 

“Who are you, and where am I?” Vergil snapped in a crisp voice. Making sure his question was clearly heard by this woman’s ears. 

“I-I’m Lady, remember? I met you on that rooftop, where I kinda threatened you with my rocket launcher!” She blurted out.

Fragments of that night started to come back to the demon. Yes...he remembered that woman. Her annoying presence to what should have been a private conversation between him and his brother. The catalyst of a fight that soon broke out between the pair. Her standing in the path of slicing his idiotic twin into pieces. What he had originally considered an empty threat turned out to be far more deadly than he had expected. Backing down and submitting to her request. Her poorly chosen words of reassurance-

 _“Yeah Lady! Maybe not the best Metaphor right now!”_ Dante's ghostly chuckle reminded him. 

She was an associate of his little brother, wasn’t she? Perhaps she could be trusted. 

Yamato’s sharp blade wobbled with uncertainty for a brief moment. Before Vergil’s tense grip on the ornate handle loosened. Soon withdrawing the blade from the brunette’s neck, and quickly sheathing it back away with a satisfying click. Carefully placing it in the open space beside him; resting its ornate guard on his pillow like a beloved child. 

“My apologies. I shouldn’t have reacted like that.” Vergil admitted softly. Bowing his head apologetically, only to foolishly realise his long hair had fallen down in front of his face.

“Oh, uh…no worries!” Lady reassured. Taking a seat on the edge of the sofa bed beside him; it's metal bars squeaking at the sudden weight being placed upon them. “Dante warned me you might be a bit…. **_stabby_ ** when you woke up."

“Good to see he remembers our childhood well.” Vergil smirked ominously.

“Wait! Do you mean you used to stab him, if he woke you up?”

There was a sinister pause, as Vergil raised a hand up to his silky locks, and slicked them back in one fluid motion. The regal sharpness of his princely features returning through this simple act.

“Possibly."

Lady raised her dark eyebrows comically high at that. Glancing away from the insane demon with a disbelieving, yet disturbed look on her face. “Okayyyy then!”

“How long have I been unconscious?” Vergil asked coldly, gazing down at his torso. Surprised to find he was still wearing his ruffled white shirt; although one or two of its buttons were undone around his collar, leaving his ashen collarbone and slight upper chest exposed. 

“Two days”, Lady said bluntly.

Vergil’s head shot back up. Wide-eyed in stark disbelief at her claim. “What?”

“Hey! I’m just the messenger!” Mary deafened herself. Raising her hands to declare her innocence against his judgmental glare. "You slept like a rock the whole time!"

Vergil grunted in disdain.

Two days. Two days of lost progress. 

He didn’t even want to think how much headway the demonic authorities must've made in investigating them during that time. How much precious time he’d cost them through indulging in his body's selfish - all be it natural - desire for slumber!

He highly doubted Dante had done anything to help their plight in that time. His twin wasn’t exactly the most proactive of people. More reactive if anything. Going off on vague leads or gut instinct when the chance presented itself. If he’d been doing anything of worth, he probably be out doing it right now-

But, Dante wasn’t here. The tale-tale signs of obnoxious his little brother were not present in this apartment, no matter where he searched. 

“Where is my brother?” Vergil inquired. His voice uncharacteristically more high-pitched than how he naturally spoke, as familial concern seeped into his words. 

“Out getting Pizza.” The brunette responded nonchalantly. Reaching out a slim arm over to the bedside table across from Vergil, and grabbing a steaming mug of what smelt distinctively like coffee. Taking a small slip of its contents, before cradling it close to her chest. “He’s been bugging me for the past few days if he could go out and get some. I swear that guy's craving for the stuff isn’t natural!”

So he wasn’t doing anything productive then. _How typical of you Dante._

Yet despite this typical disdain for his brother’s lax attitude towards life. This news brought a small ounce of relief to Vergil. Sure, what Dante had done wasn’t exactly helpful in any meaningful way. Equally wasting time while their heritage loomed as a ticking time bomb over their heads. But knowing that his twin was safe in his mundane activities, rather than charging off on a whim and doing something stupid that brought down yet more unwanted attention on the pair. Certain calmed the demon’s racing heart. 

“How long do you think it will be until he gets back? I need to talk to him about something.”

“Uhhh-“ Lady scratched her head thoughtfully, as she gazed out of the apartment’s large window. The view of neon cityscape somehow provided her with the fuel needed for her groundbreaking mental calculus. "An hour at minimum?” 

“Fantastic” Vergil muttered sarcastically, in a low voice. Rolling his eyes. 

Lady noticed his obvious discomfort. Behind that cold and cynical facade she could sense the demon was carrying around a great deal of stress. Certainly evident from how rigid his posture was, for someone who had only woke up a few minutes ago. Or maybe that’s just how Vergil carried himself! From what she could gather, the demon certainly liked to portray he was a prim and proper gentleman, compared to his roguish twin. Doing everything in how power not to seem alike - even down to smallest detail. 

“Hey, do you wanna watch some TV while you wait?” Lady suggested softly. Putting down her coffee on the bedside table, and clambering onto the bed. Laying down beside him. 

Vergil didn’t reply. Not so subtly backing away from the brunette, until his back was pressed up against the window. His sharp eyes aimed squarely at her, with a withering glare; wordlessly condemning her for daring to invade his personal space. Something that would have looked rather threatening, had he not been hugging Yamato close to his chest; like a child who feared his favourite toy was about to be snatched from him. 

The mercenary smirked in amusement at this. _God! He’s as bad as his brother, isn’t he? If not worse! They’re both man children with insane powers!_

Taking his lack of a response as a justification for carrying on with her plan regardless. Lady asked her household AI to turn her television on. Soon enough, a cooking show began to drone on in the background. The middle-age chef on the screen haphazardly explaining the steps of his recipe as he quickly jumped from one instruction to the other. Leading to a rather mindless watching experience, as the brunette simply enjoyed seeing the mouth-watering food be created from nothing. 

After a while, Lady took a quick glance over at her guest. Finding his stubborn gaze still fixed in her direction. His posture was stiff, alert, as though he were still expecting to be assaulted by a hidden enemy, breaking down the apartment door, at any given time.

“Hey, are you gonna relax or not?” She asked, turning her head towards the stoic demon. "Look, you need a day off now and again. You can’t just be perpetually motivated-“

“You underestimate me, woman.” Vergil rebuked swiftly. As if to prove his words, he straightened his posture even more, until she could barely even see his breathing anymore. What was quite visible, however, was a sly smile that had formed on the demon's lips.

“Oh! Just watch the damn TV!” Lady huffed in annoyance. Rolling her colourful eyes, as she turned her attention back to the cooking program. 

Seeing that he had successfully won this battle. When he was absolutely certain the brunette wasn’t going to be gawking at him, he followed her command regardless to add insult to injury. Idly watching as the intoxicating image of a dozen or so burgers cooking atop a wood burning stove, flashed up on the screen. Ironically, it seemed this woman was right, as Vergil found himself relaxing at the sound of them sizzling and the chefs smooth voice narrating overtop. Using all sorts of fantastical adjectives in his descriptions to make his food sound more like some god-like ambrosia, than what it most likely actually tasted. Pretentious in a way. But only to the viewer who was paying attention to these sorts of things. Something that, for once, Vergil wasn’t really doing. 

No, his mind had gone somewhere else entirely. Taking this rare opportunity to reflect on what had transpired over these last few, stressful days.

What had been its catalyst-

* * *

“Hey bro! You still in there?” Dante whined. Clicking his fingers right next to Vergil’s ear irritatingly. His identical face shoved right in front of Vergil’s, so close that their noses were practically touching, as he skilfully strolled backwards a step or two ahead of his twin. Coming to an abrupt halt, when he didn’t get any reply. “Come on! Don’t tell me you zoned out again-“

“Get out of my way!" Vergil snarled in annoyance. Choosing to show his displeasure at his twin’s antics, by thrusting out his palm over his brother’s identical, grinning face and pushing him aside. Storming off down the dirty alleyway past his dazed twin. “And for the record Dante, I was not ‘zoned out’. I was just thinking about the mission...”

“What’s there to think about? It's pretty simple, right?” Dante called out. Chasing to catch up with his big brother. His crimson scarf fluttering elegantly behind him."Just go in and take out the crazy cultists lab!”

Dante's simplistic explanation of the mission wasn’t entirely wrong. 

This morning, the two of them had been tasked with taking out an illegal demonic conversion lab, most likely run by the Cult of Fortuna. 

For a while now the demonic authorities had suspected its presence. There had been an increase in reports of lesser demons being spotted on the lower floors. As well as a dozen or so more fatal attacks having been carried out by such in the past few months. Given that as far as Vergil was aware, no new ascension lotteries had been carried out during that time. All facts pointed to a back-street lab and its failed experiments breaking loose. 

Thus, it was up to them to put a stop to it, before things got more out of hand.

“You never think about the nuances of these things, do you?” Vergil sighed deeply, shaking his head. "We’re engaging a group that sees us as 'divine entities’ that will bring them salvation. How do you think those insane fools are going to react in our presence?”

“I don't know? Bow down in worship to us?” Dante suggested, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Suddenly appearing beside Vergil. His bare arms crossed behind the back of his head, as he carelessly gazed up at the metal sky above them. “Man, I hope that’s the case! It’ll be really easy to arrest the whole lot of them if that happens!”

“Yes, but what if they don’t do that?” Vergil proposed in a serious voice. Glancing over his shoulder at his little brother, from underneath the hood of his navy coat. “Imagine it, Dante. Your god comes down and appears before you. Then declares that your barbaric form of worship is wrong? How do you think those unstable humans are going to react?”

Dante opened his mouth to speak, to respond to his brother’s question - when all of a sudden he almost tripped up on a littered soda that had somehow magically appeared under his feet. That or he hadn’t noticed he was walking into it. The more likely scenario out of the two, Vergil thought. Watching as his little brother fell forwards, a crimson scarf flying up into the air behind him, only barely managing to save himself by putting another foot down in time. 

A flurry of profanities left Dante's mouth, as he struggled to find balance himself once again. Calm his racing heart. He lightly grasped a hold of his knees and he twisted his head around to face the sinister mint can. A look of youthful indigence on his face, reddened cheeks puffed out with air, as he strode back over to it.

“Well then, I’d say we’re in for one hell of a party!” Dante remarked in a strained voice, kicking the soda can across the alleyway with a clank. The can bounced down the alleyway until it lost its momentum and rolled under an industrial rubbish bin. Never to be seen again. Something that made the demon in red ever so happy, If the victorious, toothy grin on his face was anything to go by.

The blue demon wasn’t so impressed however. Scoffing at his brother’s use of his childish catchphrase.

“Oh come on, Verge! I know you love it when we get to fight!” Dante pointed out. Catching back up with his big brother, and swinging an arm around his shoulders - pulling him close.

“I suppose there is some truth in that.” Vergil smirked to himself, beneath the shadows of his hood.

“See what I mean? So just stop worrying about-“

Suddenly, Dante was cut off as Vergil placed a firm hand on his brother’s chest. Stopping him just as they were about to round the next street corner. “We’re here, brother.”

Carefully peaking their heads out from the alleyway. The two brothers observed a rather unsettling scene taking place on the dark street before them.

A group of men, veiled in white robes that obscured their identities in a sea of drapery, stood idly gathered around a stretcher - on which lay an unconscious young woman. They stood outside a rather dilapidated and not-so-sanitary tattoo parlour. Seeming waiting while another veiled man engaged in deep conversation with a rather burly man, standing guard on its doorstep. One with cybernetic enhancements too - if the giant metal arm attached to his hulk of a body, wasn’t a massive give away. 

After a series of rather professional head nods between the two men, the guard moved aside, and allowed the group of cultists to enter the building. Quickly moving back to his stern vigil when they went.

“So wanna bet what kind of enhancements that dude’s got?” Dante whispered excitedly into his twin's ear. 

“It could range between just simply that arm, or full nanotech implants, brother. It would be hard to guess what he has without engaging him.” Vergil assessed critically. 

Dante pouted childishly at his brother’s reasonable argument. Turning his head upwards, so that he was gazing up at the lower section Vergil’s pale jaw - the only part of his twin’s face visible beneath the shadows of his hood. An accusing look in Dante’s baby blue eyes. “You’re just avoiding the question cause you don’t wanna lose!”

“That’s besides the point, Dante!” Vergil snapped in a hushed voice. Glaring down at his little brother. Unintentionally entering into a heated staring contest between the pair of them. One which lasted for around a minute, before Vergil gave up - seeing that there was no winning against Dante - and turned his intense gaze back onto the solidly-built guard. “Fine, his arm. Now do you want to be the one to talk with him or not?”

“Eh, sure!” Dante said simply. Before casually walking out of the alleyway and down the street towards the guard. Hands resting in the pockets of his tight-fitted trousers. 

From the safety of the shadows, a strange buzz of excitement began to well up in Vergil’s chest, as he observed his twin’s movements with a cautious eye. Approaching the mountainous guard with a friendly wave. 

Vergil always enjoyed the early stages of missions like these - having the advantage over his unsuspecting prey. While others saw stealth as a stressful means to overcome a difficult obstacle. To Vergil, stealth was an art form all on to its own. He found great pleasure in watching a plan being carried out perfectly. Much like observing a beautiful masterwork of an artist. All the little details, procession and skill with the brush, needed to make the painting what it is, equally carrying over into what made a successful take down feel so satisfying to the devil. These were the things he was good at.

Communicating with others however….well Vergil knew his flaws. While he certainly had an eloquence for words, it was utterly worthless compared to Dante’s brazen, irresistible charm. His social butterfly of a brother always managed to get under anyone's skin, regardless of what defences they put up. Being able to win over strangers in a matter of seconds. To be loved and adored so effortlessly. It was something Vergil admired, yet deeply hated about him. When he struggled to inspire even the slightest hint of admiration from those around him. 

Yet, no matter what resentment Vergil felt towards his little brother. He knew this was exactly why they made a good team. They were the mirror opposites of each-other, in more ways than one. And so long as the mission was carried out successfully, Vergil would resign himself to working in the shadow of his bright-eyed twin. 

He reached a steady hand to down Yamato’s ornate handle-

“Hey do you guys open right now? Kinda wanna get a tattoo for my upper arm.” Dante asked the guard, in his usual whiny voice. Turning his body so the top half of his toned arm was visible to the larger man. “You know, maybe like some guns and roses or something-“

“We’re not open, kid. Beat it.” The guard grunted in a gruff, fatherly voice. Gesturing away down the street with his metal thumb.

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t speak to my brother like that.” A stern voice uttered behind him; hot breath tickling the back of his neck. 

Before the guard even had a chance to turn around and see who was behind him. Vergil rammed Yamato through his chest in one swift, clean strike. Pulling the sword back out just as efficiently. Without Yamato’s blade supporting his weight, the large man collapsed to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Hitting the concrete with a thump. 

Dante jolted away in surprise at the suddenness of his twin’s takedown. A startled expression on his face, as he threw his hands up defensively. "Woah! Maybe a little bit excessive there, Verge!” 

“You were wasting time.” Vergil said bluntly. Wiping the man’s blood from his blade and smoothly returning it to his sheath. 

“Wasting time? I only said like- what? Two sentences?” Dante exasperated. 

“Thank you for your distraction.” Vergil looked down and examined his handy work. Although he wouldn’t say it aloud, he was actually quite thankful he’d managed to neutralise this guard, before they had a chance to see who won their bet. Both for the sake of their personal safety, and the demon's own pride.

With a small, satisfied nod at what he had accomplished. Vergil spun around with a flourish of his coat, and began to walk over to the tattoo parlour's door. “We should get moving. It won’t be long till they start experimenting on that woman.”

“Yeah, you're right.” Dante muttered quietly behind him. Quickly stepping over the fallen guard and following after his brother. 

Taking a cautious peek through the shop door’s window, it was hard for Vergil to see much - what with a thick lay of polluted dust covering its surface. Ever the pragmatic, he reached up and whipped some of it away. His white palm returning covered in a thick black dust, which he swiftly brushed away with his other hand. Cascading to the ground like a rainfall of ash. When Vergil took another look through the shop door's window again, he was pleased to find there was much more clarity to what he was seeing.

Two white robed cultists, stood guard in what looked to be the shop's front. One lent against the black leather chair of a tattoo station, while talking to the idly standing other. Both seemed rather relaxed in their stance - arms crossed across their chest, or fiddling with their vail. Not even the slightest bit on the alert for any intruders, such as themselves. 

“I’ll take the guy on the left.” Dante whispered from behind his twin. 

“Alright.” Vergil quietly agreed. Reaching for the door’s handle, and ever so slowly twisting it open. 

The shop's old fashion bell, above the door, chimed. 

_Blast!_ Vergil thought. Cringing at the sound; as the two cultists suddenly shot up and snapped their heads towards the door. Reaching for something under their robes-

Seeing this as a sign of engagement, Vergil quickly triggered his nanotech skin. Dante followed soon after. A bright flash of blue and red light filling the room, leaving the cultists utterly blinded. 

“Wait! Where did they go-“ The cultist was swiftly cut off. 

“Help-“ His friend cried, only to be silenced half-way through. 

When the light faded away, the two demons stood over their fallen prey. Both their blades covered in dripping blood. They looked over at one another, smiling. 

“Well that was surprisingly easy!” Dante chucked, breathless. Slamming Rebellion into the ground, and leaning his body weight against it. Seemingly recovering from the sudden bolt of adrenaline pumping through his system. 

His little brother’s trigger wasn’t too different from his own. Black and crimson red in colour. The artificial second-skin had similar patterning to Vergil’s. The only real difference between their combat suits, was the long, onyx half-cape that cascaded out from Dante’s left shoulder - similar to where his regular crimson scarf rested - falling down to ankle height. 

“I wouldn’t say that so soon, brother.” Vergil corrected him. Turning his sharp gaze towards the staff door. The sound of men shouting coming from the other side. 

“Uh, that’s not good.” Dante pulled Rebellion out of the ground, and walked over to the metal door. The large blade resting casually against his shoulders as he leaned back against the door. “Hey mind if I take first dibs?”

Vergil ran a hand through his snowy hair, to push back a stray lock that had come undone in the chaos. A thoughtful expression on pulling on his sharp features, as his glacial eyes gazed down at his beloved katana in his other hand. "Since you’ve been so well behaved today, I’ll allow it.”

“Hell yeah!” Dante cheered. Grinning brightly at his regal twin. 

Without another word, Dante spun around and smashed open the staff door with a heavy roundhouse kick. Charging inside, with his great-sword held high. 

_Let’s see what we’ve got here then._ Vergil smirked to himself. His hold on Yamato tight as he followed after his overexcited twin. Walking over what remained of the staff door laying on the ground, into a dark, cramped corridor. 

He could already hear the mayhem going on in a room down the hallway. The crashing of furniture breaking, the panicked yelling of cultists, guns being fired, Dante’s woohoo-ing. All of it echoing down to Vergil's position. An eerie red light came out of the open doorway, as a series of shadows danced on the opposite wall. 

Yet, instead of jumping in and helping out his little brother with putting down the remaining cultists (Vergil didn’t doubt that Dante certainly had the situation under control), the blue demon decided to take a moment to examine what lay beyond some of the other doors leading off from the corridor. 

He quickly regretted his decision, however. When all he managed to find sight upon sight of horrifying experimentation being carried out. Several people laying tightly fixed to rusted, metal boards - frantically trying to break free from their restraints, as their bodies mutated against their will. Some still looking fairly humanoid - perhaps these were the rare few the cultists had somehow succeed in converting into demons? Others on the verge of saying goodbye to their humanity entirely, if Vergil were to put it nicely. 

It was enough to make his hardened stomach feel queasy and loose, watching them squirm in agony. Reminding him why these kinds of missions were so important. Not only for the sake of the demonic military's credibility. But also to prevent others coming to this vile fate.

To protect others. 

It was the kind of thing their honourable father always encouraged them to do. Be they human or demonic. A responsibility Vergil very much took to heart. If he had the power to protect others with his demonic gifts, why shouldn’t he? It would be immensely selfish of him to do otherwise. 

The sudden sound of footsteps snapped Vergil out of his thoughts. He turned his head towards the creaking sound. Finding himself face to face with another man coming down the stairwell at the end of the corridor. 

It was clear from his pure white clothing that this man was certainly a cult member. Yet there was something different about it, how it clung to his frame like a modern suit with hints of drapery in its design, that signalled to Vergil he was not like the others. For one, he did not wear a veil. His tired, weathered face fully visible to Vergil’s eyes. Ash blond hair, streaked with white, being tied back into a loose ponytail behind his head. A pair of gold-rimmed glasses sitting in his hairline.

The longer the pair started at one another, the more the middle-aged man’s face dropped. A look of increasing panic forming in his fearful, sunken chestnut eyes, as he slowly took one hesitant step backwards up the stairs. 

_He’s going to make a run for it!_

Without a second's hesitation, the blue demon launched himself at the man. Feet pounding against the ground, as he chased his prey up the stairs. His nanotech enhancements made quick work to boost his speed. Keeping exhaustion at bay in his calf muscles, as they automatically corrected his footing to the most efficient running method. It was no wonder he was able to swiftly catch up with the man, just as he was about to dive into a small office.

Vergil reached out and grabbed the man’s collar. Almost immediately forcing him backwards against Vergil’s chest. He lurched forward, struggled to break free. Each and every attempt almost strangling him, as the collar of his shirt cut into his windpipe for his foolish actions. The blue demon’s firm hold refused to budge and allow any leeway, so long as he kept up these hopeless breaks for freedom.

This wasn’t to say that Vergil wanted to kill this man. The demon was smart enough to suspect he must have held some importance to this illegal operation the cult was carrying out here. And it would be useful to the demonic military if he could be questioned. That...and father would be proud to see he and Dante had helped out in some way, when he returned. 

Vergil always loved to see his roguish smile. 

“Can you please stop trying to kill yourself for a one moment?” Vergil huffed. Looking down at the older man like a disapproving parent. 

Nothing. It seemed his words had no effect in keeping this human from his stubborn crusade to escape the demon’s grasp. 

Vergil suspected he couldn’t exactly keep him like this for long. The man was already starting to pale dramatically from lack of oxygen. He had, perhaps, around 20 seconds or less before the man would either die or pass out. The former being the least preferable. 

Seeing that he had no other option in getting this cultist to cease and submit to his will. Vergil dragged him into the office and threw the man into a science jargon covered whiteboard. 

While the gasping man was still in a dazed state, Vergil quickly unsheathed Yamato and held it’s sharp edge under his chin. Forcing the cultist to raise his head and look up at his captor. 

Vergil kept a close eye on the man, never once taking his fierce gaze off of him, as he raised a steady hand up to an earpiece in his ear. “This is Vergil Sparda requesting an escort vehicle for the arrest of a human citizen. Yes, as soon as possible. Thank yo-“

“Sparda?” Wheezed the cultist in a weak voice. “I haven’t heard that name in years…"

Vergil dropped his hand down from his earpiece. Lifting Yamato up so the man was forced to raise his chin uncomfortably high. “Did I say you could speak?”

The cultist didn’t seem the slightest bit affected by Vergil’s threat. Instead, looking lost in thought as he gazed up at the young man before. Staring intently at his pale face.

“You're their son aren’t you?” The man suddenly gasped. Brown eyes widening. "I mean, you look like a combination of the both of them-“

“How does a human such as you know about my parents? Has the Cult of Fortuna been plotting something against my father?” Vergil snapped accusingly. A murderous glint in his glacier eyes, as he glared down at the cultist. 

“Oh no! Nothing of the sort!” The cultist reassured in a surprisingly soft, honest tone. Gently raising up his callous hands in surrender. Catching Vergil off guard. This wasn’t exactly what he had expected from a religious fanatic. He’d been anticipating some bogus speech about how he and his faith were in the right. Instead, this man gave off a remarkably humble aura. “I used to run a cafe on the middle floor. Well, until it fell on hard times a while back. I couldn’t make ends meet so I was forced to move to the slums on the lower floor-“

“I don’t care for your sob story.” Vergil cut him off impatiently. A stray lock of white hair buckling under the tension of the situation and flopping down onto his forehead. “Get to the point.”

“Sparda used to frequent my establishment whenever he came down from the upper floor on business. Often sat with this lovely blond regular of mine. I swear those two lovebirds used to talk for hours upon end. Always racking up one hell of a bill at the end of each meeting!” The middle-aged man laughed faintly. A look of reminisce of a better time in his tired eyes, as a small smile crept onto his lips. "Guess they eventually acted on those feelings and created you.”

“You're lying.” Vergil growled. Incredibly offended that this human _dare_ thought he could tarnish his father’s honour with such a fabrication. An excuse to rub salt into the wound of his captor. To break down his defences and leave him vulnerable to error. If that was the case...this cultist was far cleverer and more manipulative than Vergil first thought. “My father was loyal to my late mother until the very end. He’d never lay a finger on another woman.”

A genuine look of horror, tinged with unbridled grief, crossed the man’s face when he said that. Deep worry lines forming on his forehead, ageing him significantly. “Wait...Eva’s dead?” 

_Eva?_

Why did this man think Eva was his birth mother? 

He must have been gravely mistaken. She was their nanny. And a human too! What on earth would his father have been thinking to have such romantic escapades with her of all people?

Yet, a seed of insidious doubt had been planted in his mind. One which quickly sprouted invasive roots that began to multiply rapidly. Pushing up uncomfortable questions he had always had about Eva’s purpose in their household, he had always kept locked away in the deepest regions of his psyche, to the forefront of his mind.

Utterly distracted by his own internal conflict, Vergil’s hold on Yamato loosened for the briefest moment. The blade losing all tension and limply dropped down from the cultist's neck at its master’s unintentional command.

The cultist seemed to take this opportunity while he still could. Making a dash for freedom out of the office’s window. Vergil tried to chase after him, only a step or so behind him. But he wasn’t quick enough, as the man went smashing through the window pane and fell to the ground. Meeting a pitiful end. 

At least...that’s what Vergil first thought. 

After quickly slamming his nanotech boots into the ground to slow his velocity, just as he too was about to go flying threw the broken window. The blue demon was shocked to find no body rag-dolled in a pool of blood on the ground, a few stores below him. No, there was absolutely nothing there! The cultist had somehow managed to miraculously vanish into thin air, in the matter of brief milliseconds it had taken the demon to reach the window.

 _Dammit!_ Vergil cursed angrily, slamming his first into the shoddy, concrete windowsill below him. A large dent forming below the impact zone. Letting out a shaky, frustrated growl. 

“Hey bro, the whole place is cleaned out!” Dante’s familiar voice suddenly chirped from behind him. Causing Vergil’s rigid frame to shudder with a sharp prickle of anxiety racing up his spine. As though his twin were a ghostly spirit who had snuck up on him in the dead of night. Sending his fleeting heart racing out of control. 

Vergil quickly spun around; back pressed tightly against the windowsill. Finding Dante with the unconscious young woman from earlier, laying limp in his arms. Looking o’ so proud of himself, with that smug, toothy grin on his face. Seemingly enjoying living out his fantasy as this damsel in distress’ Prince Charming. 

“Whatcha doing up here, Verge?” Dante questioned. "I’m flattered you wanted me to do all the dirty work, but would’ve liked maybe a little help, you know?”

Dante did not need to know about this. They were only the words of a madman trying to distract him. Nothing more.

Vergil shook his head. “It's nothing. Let’s go."

* * *

“Seriously Dante? Did you really need to buy all this Pizza?” Lady yelled in a furious voice. Snapping Vergil back to reality.

It seemed his little brother had returned from his travels; standing in the apartment doorway, with that leaning tower of Pizza boxes he held. Having seemingly managed to somehow pass under the tight door frame upon his entry into the room. A miracle to say the least. He stood there arguing with that female associate of his. The two of them looked like an old married couple, as the mercenary stubbornly blocked his path into the rest of the apartment; her hands resting on her hips. 

“I was stocking up!” Dante defended himself; voice muffled by the cardboard boxes in front of him.

“Stocking up? Stocking up? You can just buy this shit from a supermarket whenever you want! And for half the price if I might add!” Lady exclaimed, stamping her foot on the ground. Grabbing a hold of fistfuls of chestnut hair, as she shook her head angrily. “I’m never letting you borrow my bank account again!”

Completely ignorant to the woman’s distress, Dante walked past her towards the kitchenette. A sly smile visible on his lips beneath the shadows of his hood, as he placed the tower down on the countertop. “Hey, don’t sweat it babe! I’ll pay you back at some point~”

“You better-“ Lady began to snap, when she was interrupted by a deliberate cough from the other side of the room. 

The two of them turned their heads in the direction of the sound, finding Vergil sitting up, posture perfect, at the edge of the bed. His pale hands resting patiently on top Yamato’s handle; blade resting between his legs. His eyes narrowing in disapproval the longer the pair gawked at him.

“Oh hey Verge! Guess you're finally awake then, huh?” Dante eventually greeted with an awkward, breathy chuckle. His blue eyes looking out from behind the mountainous tower of Pizza boxes obscuring his face. Adjusting his body, in such a way, behind the greasy cardboard monstrosity, so that it acted as a preemptive shield against his elder brother’s wrath. 

“I guess I am.” Vergil responded in a drawn out, monotone voice; filled to the brim with sarcasm. Annoyed that it had taken his twin this long to acknowledge his presence. Although, what else did he expect from Dante? His insatiable appetite had always ruled over his most basic of mentor functions.

It was then that a sudden yelp of realisation escaped Lady. Immediately dispelling the heavy tension that had filled the space, as she clicked her fingers "Oh right! Your brother wanted to talk to you about something!” 

“Oh did he now?” Dante remarked. A teasing smile forming on his crimson lips, as he peeked his head out further from behind the tower of Pizza. His mop of damp white hair visibly sticking to his fair cheeks, as he clutched his chest dramatically. “Awww that’s so sweet of you Verge! Let me guess? You wanted to tell me how much you love me~"

“I despise you, you idiot!” Vergil sneered. Grabbing a hold of a nearby pillow and throwing it at his brother’s exposed frame. Thankfully missing the leaning tower of Pizza by a hair's breadth. Much to the relief of the apartments owner, who looked as though she was on the verge of exploding. Tender face bright red with wrath. She took a step forward, opening her mouth to berate him for his reckless actions. When Vergil swiftly raised his hand in front of her. Cutting the brunette off before she had the chance to speak. “And yes, your friend here is right. I do have…something I wish to discuss with you.”

There was something about his twin’s earnest tone that tipped Dante off that this was important. Something serious.

Almost immediately, the demon walked out from behind his Pizza shield. Pulling the hood of his crimson scarf down, so that his face was fully exposed. Making sure that Vergil knew they were on the same level going forward. That the childish games between them had ended...for now. 

“Alright bro. Let me grab some Pizza. Then you can lay it on me.” Dante said in a soft voice. Giving a small nod in understanding of the situation. One that was swiftly returned by the demon in blue, whose stiff shoulders dropped, with a small sigh of relief.

Dante walked back over to the counter, and reached up to grab the top box of Pizza from the tower’s summit. Carefully removing it with the procession of someone playing high stakes Jenga. After a tense, breathless second of watching the tower sway unstably for a moment. When it didn’t fall, Dante quickly backed away from it. Moving back over to his twin’s bedside, and sitting down cross-legged on the cream carpeted floor; greasy pizza box resting in his lap.

He flipped the box open, and soon trapped steam quickly smothered his vision, as it rushed to escape the confines of its cardboard prison. When it had cleared, Dante looked down at his meal with a wide, joyous smile on his youthful face; like he was a child on Christmas morning. He tenderly slid his fingers underneath a steaming slice of Pizza. Picking it up and dangling it tantalisingly close to his mouth. So close in fact, that its melted cheese tickled against the tip of his tongue. Its rich, salty taste only made the slice ever more inviting, as Dante downed the whole thing in one mouthful. Much to the grotesque horror of Vergil, who couldn't help but cringe away in disgust at his brother’s lack of table manners. Especially when his twin performed the sacrilegious act of all… wiping away the tomato sauce covering his mouth with the back of his hand.

Vergil could hardly stand the embarrassment any longer. Snapping, he lightly kicked his brother’s kneecap to draw him out of his Pizza induced trance. At the sudden contact, Dante’s head shot up with a silent, bewildered _“What the hell was that for?”_ look in his sapphire eyes. It took him a second or so to realise why his elder twin was being so impatient. When it finally clicked, he scratched the back of his head awkwardly; “Oh yeah. That.”

Lady had taken a seat beside the demon in red. She sat up attentively, back straight and head tilted up towards the regal young man, like the teacher's pet of this ramshackle classroom. Mildly curious what Vergil was planning to say, as he opened his mouth. 

“Dante…do you remember that mission we were assigned a week ago?”

“The one with the cultists?” Dante asked. His twin nodded in conformation. "Yeah I remember that! Why bring it up now? Went smoothly didn’t it?" 

“No….not exactly.” Vergil said in a heavy voice. Self-loathing evident in the deep sigh that escaped his lips soon after. “While you were neutralising those cultists on the ground floor. I….I encountered their leader.”

“Wait? And you didn’t catch him?” Dante inquired. The melancholy expression on his brother’s face told him everything he needed to know. "Damn Verge! That’s not like you!”

“I wasn’t exactly myself at that moment, brother. He distracted me….” Vergil admitted softly. Looking down and away from the pair shamefully. “He was the one who first informed me about our heritage. Apparently he was present during the early stages of our parents' forbidden romance. Watched them...fall in love.”

“Well shit, that’s not at all incriminating!” Dante exclaimed, grip tightening on the thin cardboard of his Pizza box. Trying his best to keep his rising panic under check. “But it's not like the demonic authorities would believe him if he spoke out, right? I mean, the dude works for a fucking cult-“

“Yes, but he was also a cafe owner. One who probably still has access to recipes of his old establishment in the cloud network.” Vergil explained in a matter of fact voice. Running a hand through his thick hair. “Even if father covered his tracks with a pseudonym. I doubt our moth- Eva would have done the same at that time. She probably wouldn’t have known how their relationship would have blossomed into something…something like-“

“Us.” Dante finished. “I see where you are coming from bro.”

“Wait, wait, wait! Let me get this straight. You want us to find this guy, and stop him _in case_ he spills the beans on your parents' love life?” Lady questioned; waving her hands in the air. “What if the guy just wants to be left alone to do his weird cult shit?" 

Vergil turned to her with a small, charming smile. Catching her off guard. “Well if we are too, as you so eloquently put it, ‘Cover up the leaks’ before any get out. We can not take any risks. Thus this will be our top priority for now.” The demon's smile began to falter then. The brief glimpse of emotion she had seen on his face draining away, as his aristocratic features quickly reverted back to the stern expression, practically etched into them at this point. His glacier eyes narrowing sharply, as he focused his intense gaze on her alone. "Understood?”

“Yep!” Lady agreed in an unnaturally high-pitched voice. Nodding her head eagerly. God, he was like a light switch! And here she was thinking Vergil was the more predictable of the two murder twins! Just her luck she’d be forced on another crazy adventure with the two of them! ~~Not that she was going to admit she enjoyed the heart-pounding thrill of it.~~

“Good to see we are in agreement then.” Vergil said in a pleased voice; turning his attention back to his scruffy twin. “You can continue eating your pizza now, brother.”

“Hell yeah!” Dante cheered, toothy grin and all. Before he practically slammed his face into the cardboard box and devoured his meal whole. 

He knew there was no stopping his little brother at this time. No matter how much the animalistic savagery of his twin's lack of table manners turned Vergil’s stomach upside down. Seeing that he couldn’t do much else to avoid such a vile sight. He lay back down on the sofa bed’s comfy mattress with a sigh; Yamato held close to his broad chest, as he turned his gaze towards the apartment's television. Having seemingly switched over to the city’s news channel without his prior knowledge. 

On the screen, a smartly dressed human woman sat on a purple sofa. Gesturing up at a holographic image, with her manicured hand, of a city in tatters as she spoke;

**_“It is reported that a coup is currently being attempted in Vigrid, by members of the surviving population, to take back the city. As of now, experts do not expect that it will take long for our forces to put down such a rebellion. However, it is assumed the forces of Lord Sprada will be delayed back from their victory for now.”_ **

It felt as though Vergil’s gut had been violently ripped out of him at the news. His breaths began to shallow and quicken. Squeezing his eyes shut as he clutched Yamato tightly, like a beloved teddy bear. His arms quickly turned numb from the tremendous amount of pressure he was putting on them. The voice of his brother and female associate rapidly fading away and turning to high-pitched static whirling in his ears. Leaving him in a panic-induced void of his own creation.

He was certainly conscious enough to know he was in the mists of a panic attack. Yet, no matter how much Vergil tried to talk sense into himself. His mind refused to give up on its irrational, negative spiral downwards. 

As much as he liked to project the image of a cold and collected young man onto the outside world. In reality Vergil was absolutely **_terrified_** by the concept of leadership. He had always been a quiet, gentle soul growing up. Always being buried in his mountain of books, rather than facing the harsh reality of the real world that had never accepted his softness. He never once believed he could be the man of the household. No…that was his father’s job. He had always been there to protect them. A strong force of nature that had kept them fortified in a state of innocence, without a single real threat against them growing up. A privileged life. 

But…now he was gone - just as his closely guarded secret now threatened to destroy all their lives. It was absolutely nerve-racking to Vergil that he had no one to fall back on. No one to ask for advice on how he should proceed from here. How he could keep Eva and Dante safe from a world that would hunt them down with no remorse? How could he keep that from happening? It was an impossible task no matter how he looked at it! It's why his original suicidal plan to assassinate seemed so appealing. At least he'd be obliterated in a moment or triumphant. All his problems fixed in a matter of seconds. 

~~But it was all his fault these problems existed in the first place, wasn’t it? All because of his selfish desire for knowledge. Not allowing such forbidden information to stay hidden away in the deepest regions of the network, like his father had intended. He was a damned fool! Why couldn't he have restrained his curiosity for once in his life?~~

Deep down, Vergil had been desperately counting on Sprada returning home soon. That he wouldn’t have to deal with any of this, because his father would take care of it. Just like he had done their whole lives. That he would never have to take responsibility for the protection of his family. He…just couldn’t do it. He was too weak-

 _Please come home soon, father._ Vergil desperately prayed in a quiet voice. _I need you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> Poor Vergil! ;_; I like to think that even in this AU where his parents are still alive, some of Vergil's canonical insecurities still carry on as a major part of his character. Though, he still the posh asshole we all love! And I wouldn't change that side of him for the world! xD
> 
> This arc should continue for the next few chapters or so! I've got some cool ideas in mind. Just need to fit them in like a jigsaw so that they fit my standard of quality (*Sobs perfectionist tendencies*) 
> 
> I'll probably be releasing chapters at my own pace for now on. Mostly because I have a round of exams coming up. Which is going to be interesting due to the lockdown. So I'll probably need to study for that, which will be a top priority for a little while! O.o
> 
> Anyway, support is much appreciated! I'm always so thankful to see people love my work, when I sometimes struggle to see it myself! So thank you so much! <3
> 
> Tumblr: https://louadorable126.tumblr.com


	4. Chapter 4 - A familiar lab

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there!
> 
> So I managed to get this chapter done sooner than I expected! Yay! \U.U/
> 
> To be honest, this chapter is somewhat of a stepping stone to some of the more major plot points going forward into this arc. I’ve tried to make it more thrilling with how I present certain pieces of information. So hopefully it will be alright! *Fingers crossed*
> 
> Anyway I hope you enjoy! :D

“Hey, so what is it actually like working for the demonic military?” Lady asked curiously, as the trio strolled down a familiar alleyway. A gentle morning breeze blowing through the cramped corridor between the large buildings towering above them. 

Despite the overwhelming exhaustion she felt from being rudely woken at the crack of dawn by the ghostly Specter of Vergil standing over her in the dark. Seriously, for someone who was supposedly well-bred, the guy had no clue what "personal space" meant! He’d scared the shit out of her!. Then being dragged onto a train to the lower city, alongside an equally sleep deprived Dante - who took the opportunity to loudly vocalise his annoyance at Vergil’s spartan attitude. Lady had to admit that morning walks certainly had a certain peaceful serenity to them. 

She had become so accustomed to her busy morning commute to Morrison’s bar - always having people bashing into her as they ran past her, or the sheer overwhelming noise of people’s everyday lives washing over her - that she had forgotten that peaceful silence could exist in the city. This was certainly one of those times. As nothing, aside from the group's footsteps tapping against the concrete floor below them, which even had a certain calming hypnotic beat to it, resounded in the nearby area. 

“I’d think it's not much different to your career as a Mercenary.” Vergil said eloquently. Looking over at Lady beneath the shadows of his blue hood.“Every week, me and Dante are given several different assignments to complete by our superiors. We can’t be sent off onto the battlefield for another two years, so our father arranged for us to do peacekeeping at home.”

“Yeah, and we don’t get paid jackshit for doing it.” Dante moaned on the other side of her. "Think of it like annoying homework if anything, babe!”

“Huh.” Lady remarked. Surprised at how mundane they made such an extraordinary job sounded. If these kinds of thrilling adventures were what they did day in day out, it seemed amazing they had time for anything else! "Wait, so did you guys ever go to school? Or are you Demons only taught military stuff?”

“We were formally educated until we were around 16. Unfortunately…duty called for us to depart.” Vergil’s nasally voice began to fade near the end. He grew deathly silent, coming to an abrupt halt as his grip on Yamato tightened; falling behind the rest of the group. 

When the pair realised he wasn’t with them, they quickly spun around. Finding Vergil standing there, his body tense as he gazed down at his boots. His pale face was completely obscured by the hood of his coat. It seemed he could sense their concerned gazes, as he quickly looked up again. His regal features schooled into an emotionless facade. Yet, Lady could’ve sworn she saw a glint of insecurity and immense hurt, hidden away in those glacier eyes of his, as he began to walk over to them. Then right past the pair. “Excuse me for a moment.” 

Lady watched him hurry off down the street ahead of them. Disappearing moments later, when the tail end of his deep blue coat vanished out of sight behind the building at the end of the alleyway. 

“What’s up with him?” She asked, turning her head towards Dante. Confused as to why Vergil would have such a distressing reaction to a rather simple question.

“Oh boy.” Dante muttered to himself. Letting out a long sigh, as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. “Well...to put a long story short, Verge wanted to stay on for higher education rather than joining the demonic military full time."

“Really?” To say Lady was surprised by such a revelation was an understatement. She was utterly gobsmacked. Never in her wildest dreams thought the stoic, battle-hardened demon would care for the intellectual. Let alone try to pursue it! He’d seemed perfectly content flaunting his flawless combat ability at every opportunity, from what she had seen of the demon so far. 

“Yeah! He’s always been into books and learning since for as long as I can remember, so he wanted to go off and study English. Only issue is Dad’s position in the Emperor’s court meant that we had to go serve in the military as a show of ‘good will’ to Mundus.” Lady could practically hear the biting sarcasm in Dante’s words. “God, you should have seen him when he heard the news! Practically grabbed Dad’s knees and begged him in tears to let him stay on.”

“And he obviously didn’t?” Lady asked softly, just as the pair rounded the street corner. 

“Yeah, Dad said his hands were tied and he couldn’t do anything about it.” Dante sighed, shaking his head dismay at the unpleasant memory. “I think Vergil understands now why Dad was kinda stuck in a Catch-22. But he didn’t talk for him for months until he got sent off to Vigrid."

“Wait, so is that why he’s acting like a stuck up prick? Because he’s annoyed at the world?” Lady hypothesised. She wasn’t exactly a psychologist, but she thought it was interesting to think about these things when dealing with people so damn weird.

“Nah! Vergil's always been like that!” Dante chuckled. Patting her on the shoulder like she were his dumb little sister. Much to Lady’s annoyance. “Doubt he’s ever going to change! So you better get used to it!"

“Great.” Lady sighed. It seemed the true nature of the aloof blue demon would remain an enigma to her, for the time being. 

The pair soon arrived outside the now abandoned tattoo parlour. It didn’t look all that different since the last time Dante had been here. But, he could clearly see the tale-tell signs of the clean up crews presence here. Mainly, the lack of blood stains, dead bodies, and the distinct chemical smell of bleach in the air was the biggest clue. 

From the looks of it, his twin had already gone inside. The front door had been left wide open for a steady draft to blow in black dust off the street, and into the building. 

“Well this place certainly looks like a quick way to get blood poisoning!” Lady commented slyly. Peaking through the cracked windows of the tattoo parlour at its shoddy equipment. She began to stroll over to the entrance. “No wonder then cult decided to use it as a front-“

All of a sudden, Dante rushed past her and stood in the open doorway. Stretching his arms out so that he was holding either side of the worn door frame. Blocking her path. 

“Hey Lady, can you wait outside for a bit?” Dante asked in a serious voice. Utterly devoid of the usual devil-may care energy it always had. 

Immediately alarm bells started going off in the Mercenaries' head. Something wasn’t right here. She’d never seen Dante act like this before about anything they did. He’d never barred her from following him into certain danger. Nor had he ever kept any kind of  **_major_ ** secret from her. Which given his current status as a Half-breed he probably should've done. But if anything that clarity between them had been a show of trust! (Ok, that and her stumbling onto that roof. In retrospect, Vergil probably hadn’t meant that little secret for her ears.)

Hell, it was normally her being the one to keep his sorry ass in check, and keeping him from doing anything stupid! And this abandoned tattoo parlour certainly didn’t seem dangerous in the slightest! What? Was she going to get a bruised knee if she tripped up? Maybe a slight cut on a shard of broken glass! She could handle that! She’d certainly had worse in her time! So what on earth was Dante playing at?

“Why?” Lady interrogated coldly, looking up at the handsome face hidden beneath his crimson hood. “Look, if this is because some super secret demon bullshit, I don’t really care. I’m not going to tell anyone-“

“No, it's not that.” The demon said, shaking his head. A few loose locks of flowing white hair falling out of his hood, as a concerned look grew on his features. One which certainly fit Vergil’s identical face more than it did his. 

“Well what is it then?” Lady demanded. Growing more infuriated every passing second. She put a hand on his chest and tried to push past him. He wouldn’t budge. "Seriously! Just tell me Dante! Its fine-"

“Lady…when we were assigned to take out the cult's operations here. It was because they were doing illegal demonic conversions.” Dante explained slowly. Cringing internally as he watched the mercenary freeze up, deathly still, at the news. Her heterochromatic eyes blank and emotionless as she seemingly started into nothingness, or perhaps a not so pleasant memory from the past. Her small frame trembling ever so slightly, as she reached a shaky hand up and grabbed a fistful of her dark hair. Clutching it tightly. Rapid breaths escaping her parched mouth.

Dante hated to watch her breakdown. Here he was, standing here like a complete idiot while she suffered. It's what he had been desperately trying to avoid, for crying out loud! All his tact and dissuasion utterly useless in the end. But, he knew there was nothing he could do about it now. The truth was already out in the open now. All he could really do was place a gentle, warm hand on her shoulder and keep talking. Hoping that it would draw her back to reality. “I know your sensitive about that stuff 'cause of what your old man did-“

“I understand.” Lady suddenly responded in a serious voice, tinged with shakiness. She tilted her head up so she was looking at the red demon face on, a determined look to her features. Their eyes met. "I’ll guard the entrance until you get back.” 

Wordlessly, Lady backed away from the door without any further argument. She swung her heavy rocket launcher off her back, and then sat herself down on the shop's doorstep. Back turned away from Dante, as her heavy weaponry rested peacefully on her lap. Taking solemn vigil like the original guard who had stood there. Her chestnut hair blowing gently in the wind.

Seeing this as a sign Lady wanted to be left in peace. Dante around turned and took a step forward onto the shop floor.

"Thanks Dante.” Lady called out softly from behind him. He quickly spun back around at her words. Only to find the young woman still turned away from him, as she looked out down the street. 

For all he knew he could have imagined it. But something about that voice made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He was touched by her words in a way. Knowing that this was her genuine gratitude towards him, untouched by any sarcastic banter that had constituted too much of their short relationship. Dante felt proud that he’d done something to help her, and make up for the mistakes of their first night together. 

"No worries, babe. See you in a bit.” He replied, smiling slightly. Before heading into the building.

* * *

_ He couldn’t have hung onto anything outside of my line of sight. It's a straight drop from here.  _

Inside the small office, Vergil sat on the window sill gazing out of the shattered window. His sharp eyes scanned every inch of the surrounding area, making calculations and deductions based on logical reasoning, on how likely a human would survive each and every insane plan his mind could concocted. Each one more extravagant than the last, to the point it almost became comical - as ideas of self-incineration or large, invisible mirrors tactically placed around the area took up note in his mind.

Vergil was consciously aware what he was coming up with was utterly ridiculous. But in reality, this was just a symptom of the fact he had absolutely no idea how the cultist managed to pull off his vanishing act so successfully. For once in his life he was utterly trounced. And it annoyed Vergil no end. 

“Dammit!” He growled in frustration, as yet another plan was a let down. The facts not adding up. He ran a tense hand through his snowy locks in an attempt to calm his racing heart. God knows what this was doing to his blood pressure! He was stressed beyond all measure.

“Hey bro! You doing alright now?” Dante’s familiar voice chimed in behind him. Like Deja-vu, he spun around and found his twin standing there. Although not triggered like last time. 

“Yes, I’m doing fine. Thank you very much.” Vergil said, voice emotionless and monotone. Getting up from the windowsill so that he was standing up to attention. He wasn’t going to give Dante an excuse to call him lazy right now. 

“You certainly don’t sound like it!” Dante commented. Walking into the room casually. "Look, Lady didn’t mean to bring that up. She just didn’t know about-“

“We have more important things to be doing right now, little brother.” Vergil cut him off. In a flash, unsheathing his blade and holding its sharp tip to the centre of Dante’s chest. Applying just the right amount of pressure so that it didn’t piece through the black straps of his top and into his body. He carefully manoeuvred his stunned brother so that he was pinned up against a familiar whiteboard. “How would you escape if I held you at sword-point here?"

Dante awkwardly glanced down at the sharp blade pressing into his chest. “Uhhh, for one I’d trigger-“

“Yes, but you're a human in this case. You can’t do that.” Vergil rejected. 

“How sure are you that your guy is human?” Dante pointed out. Tapping the top of the blade with his finger playfully. “If the cult gave him that position, that must mean he gained their trust somehow, right? What if the dude had been converted into a demon prior as a requirement to get the role? That would mean he’s got a similar skill range to us.”

His brother's deduction seemed rather plausible. In fact it explained away most of the questions Vergil had about the cultist's ability to vanish like that. Their nanotech suits had a variety of functions, and any one of them used in the right way could have easily given that man an advantage over him while distracted. As embarrassing as that was to admit. 

“You have a point. Continue, brother.” Vergil prompted. Loosening Yamato’s pressure on his twin’s chest. 

“Ok, so I’d trigger and probably do the same thing of jumping out of the window. Then…I’d activate the stealth function of my combat suit and make a run for it when I hit the ground.” He glanced back up at the blue demon with a faint smirk. Scratching the back of his head.“That works for you, Verge?"

“Yes.” Vergil said simply. Swiftly pulling his sword away from Dante’s chest, and slowly sheathing it in its black case with a click. “But we still don’t have any evidence to suggest he had been converted into a demon. I don’t remember him displaying any of the physical traits-”

“Yeah but those cultists probably suck at converting people if all those lesser demons on the loose are anything to go by!” Dante said, wandering over to a nearby bookcase and leaned back against it casually. Puffing his cheeks out as he blew a stray lock of hair out of his face. “Maybe he’s just a cheap knock off-“

Crack

All of a sudden the bookcase gave out from underneath Dante. He fell backwards as the structure collapsed into a mighty heap of snapped sections of flimsy wood, books, files and all manner of other junk. A cloud of dust flying out from the carnage and being swiftly swept out of the room by the air flow from the shattered window, before it became irritable. 

Vergil couldn’t help but burst out into a fit of racking laughter at his brother’s misfortune. Grabbing his sides tightly as he tried to get air in between the convulsions. He lent back against a nearby desk, using it to support his body weight as he began to feel light-headed. Oh god he just couldn’t breath! The suddenness of it all had really caught him off guard! 

“Yeah yeah! Very funny isn’t it?” Dante pouted sadly from beneath the rumble. Trying to push himself out of it to no avail, thick books and paperwork sliding out from under his hands before he could anchor himself. Admitting defeat, his twin shook his head and sighed deeply. “You could help me, you know?”

“Why should I? You were the one tempting fate.” Vergil attempted to remark with his usual savage bite. Unfortunately the joyful breathless of his hoarse voice, coupled with the bright smile on his face created the complete opposite of the effect he wanted.

Dante let out a sound of offence at his twin’s accusations. His silver brows furrowing deeply in annoyance, as his shoulders slouched. Giving off the stereotypical vibes of a rebellious teenager annoyed at their parent. “How could I have know it was gonna collapse-“

“Silence for one moment.” Vergil interrupted bluntly; raising his hand commandingly. 

Dante came close to rebuking his brother’s request. Stubbornly opening his mouth to speak his mind, plain and simple. When he noticed the serious expression on Vergil’s face. One not caring in the slightest for the childish banter between them, and instead focused on the mission at hand. His intense gaze aimed not at him, but at a black object peeking out from under the rubble to the right of him. 

Without a second thought, Dante backed down. Watching curiously as Vergil strolled over to the mysterious object and got down onto his knees to pick it up. Dusting dirt off the device with one hand, the pair quickly realised what they had gotten their hands on. 

A Laptop. 

* * *

_ “R-Recording 15. Subject 118-AT has shown significant improvement in his…c-condtion! At his current rate it is likely that he’ll s-survive the conversion process. However, it seems our method is nowhere near as e-effective as the official method used. None of the successful d-demons we have been able to c-create have had nearly the same raw p-power or b-biogical abilities as their heavenly counterparts. Thus it seems more t-tests are need to facilitate a more exact-" _

The blue demon shut off the recording with a click of a button. He couldn’t stand to listen to anymore of that mad man’s incessant drabble. His stuttering voice was beyond irritating to his ears.

It was scary how much information the cult of Fortuna had on its members. 

Vergil sat down at the office’s spacious desk, with the ancient laptop they had acquired open in front of him. Scrolling through page after page of information he had managed to access through the cult's LAN network. In particular, he had come across the voice recordings of a man called "Agnus”, private financial details and history, and far too intimate documentation of likes and dislikes about the cultist he had been looking for. Well, he should probably stop calling him that shouldn’t he? As it turned out the man’s name was Augustus Taylor. 

It seemed Dante’s assumption was correct about him. He had been converted into a “knock-off demon” around six months ago, if the files Vergil was seeing indicated. The picture of Augustus on his profile certainly showed this. Instead of the ash blond hair, he remembered him having, the middle aged man had caramel brown hair. His skin was more tanned too, an olive coloured skin tone, unlike the ghostly pale complexion he had seen a week ago - both of which were an incriminating sign of biological tampering if Vergil had ever seen one. 

Of course, Vergil knew he was only really here to get this man’s address so they could go find him. But he couldn’t help but get caught up in the small details of this man’s life. For one, he had a family. Each of whom had been tagged on his profile as  **_“loyal members”_ ** under each of their names. Penelope, Credo, the unborn child Kyr-

“Found what you need, Verge?” Dante asked softly. Vergil looked up, finding his brother sitting on the desk in front of him. Fiddling with his crimson scarf as he looked over at him, smiling. 

“Yes.” Vergil said affirmatively. He really needed to stop dallying about. It was costing them precocious time with little gain. He stood up, closing the black laptop down - still warm to the touch, from its ancient fans desperately whirling to keep it from overheating - and picking it up. “We should get going"

Dante slid off the desk, his boots touching the ground with a loud thump. “As you say bro-“

His brother was cut off by an odd noise filtering in through the office door, as if a number of glasses were being hit against one another. Soon enough the cause of the noise became obvious, as the very floor first began to vibrate, then to tremble violently enough to shift the furniture in the room around.

**“GRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHH”** A loud roar bellowed out of nowhere. Shattering all the remaining windows of the building in one powerful shock wave.

“What the-“ Dante started. As the two brother's quickly unsheathed their weapons and turned towards the open door. One which soon had a breathless Lady coming flying threw it and slamming the door shut.

She turned to them with a fearsome look in her colourful eyes.“We need to barricade this NOW!” 

* * *

The peaceful quiet of the side street certainly gave her food for thought, as she sat guard. Clutching her rocket launcher tightly.

Despite her best efforts over the last 9 years to scrub that horrible night from her mind, she couldn’t help but think back to that it again, and again, and again over this past week. Partly it was because she’d kept stumbling into key triggers, painful reminders of what had occurred that still haunted her nightmares. Demons, lesser demons, demonic conversation, it was like she was playing a cruel game of bingo. But….

Dante cared about her. The fact he was willing to kick up a fuss to prevent her from freaking out, touched Lady in a way she hadn't thought possible. Sure, he acted like an immature 8 year old boy trapped in a young man’s body most of the time. But it was moments like these that Lady could peak past that playful facade and see that there was more than meets the eye about him. Same goes for his brother.

Although she hadn’t known Vergil for long, and most of that was seeing the carnage he left in his wake or how he tossed and turned in his sleep, she was starting to suspect that the cold and calculating front he put up was all an act. She had mentioned it aloud, mostly out of the reasonable fear of getting impaled on the end of his blade, but she’d seen the state he was in last night. The moment he thought they were no longer watching him he'd crumpled completely. Lady knew a panic attack when she saw one. Hell, she was somewhat coming down from one right now! But it was the little things she’d observed, like how tightly he clung to his blade when he was stressed, or how he’d run away at even the slightest show of vulnerability, that hinted of his true nature. One he seemed very intent to keep hidden.

Perhaps, in both their cases, it was a coping mechanism they’d developed subconsciously over their whole lives to cover up their more human sides from prying eyes. By acting out in such an extreme manner, they’d managed to hide all traces of human vulnerability, doubts and insecurities from themselves and those around them. Even if the pair of them had only learnt of their true heritage now, it must have always been there. And it made Lady’s heart feel heavy trying to decipher with how  _ she _ would deal with such an existential crisis-

Oh, what was she thinking? The two of them were probably far too caught up their childish bickering to care about any of that!

_ I hope they find what they’re looking soon. Don’t think I can be assed to run around the whole city this early in the morning!  _ Lady chuckled to herself weakly, leaning back as she looked up at the towering buildings around her.

**_Scratch Scratch_ **

“Huh?” Lady perked up at the strange, high-pitched sound; like a metal being clawed at by something sharp. She quickly stood up, and looked around the area. Half-expecting to find a stray cat playing with a garbage can nearby. Yet, there was nothing there. By all accounts she was alone on this street. 

_ Must have imagined it.  _ Lady decided, giving up her search as she moved to plop herself back down on the doorstep-

**_Scratch Scratch Scratch_ **

The sound grew louder. It seemed like it was coming from inside the tattoo parlour. But that couldn’t be right? The boys seemed confident they’d dealt with everything. 

Despite her reservations about going inside, burning curiosity spread through her veins like wildfire. She just couldn’t help herself. She just had to know what was causing that weird sound.

Lady took a deep breath, allowing herself a moment to get into the right calm and collected mindset, before she took a step inside. Keeping her finger tightly held to the trigger of her rocket launcher the whole time.

She was quite surprised to find the inside of the place looking rather normal. Sure, there was a metallic smell floating in the air, but she would have assumed that came from the tattooing instruments or cheap body spray if anything. In fact, if Dante hadn’t told her what had taken place here, she would have no clue what the cultists were up to. Obviously that’s what they would have wanted, but Lady couldn’t help but let her guard down slightly as she walked through the empty parlour. Not feeling nearly as tightly wound up as when she entered the place. 

Progressing in through the open staff door and down the corridor, however. This normality did not last long. 

The large, ominous metal doors either side of the hallway, immediately sent an uncomfortable shiver up her spine. It seemed far too mock-clinical, and eerily familiar to her in a way she wished it wasn’t. Far too like the basement she was barred so long from entering, and when she did-

_ I can’t do this.  _ Lady thought, collapsing against one of the cold metal doors. Her breathing had accelerated far beyond safe levels without her noticing, as her vision started to blur in places. She felt like she was about to vomit on the spot, as the anxiety in her stomach grew out of control. Her skin felt far too hot and sweaty. All she could really do was press her burning forehead against the icy door and pray she could calm herself enough that she could flee out of here. 

_ Come on! Get yourself together, Mary! Dante and Vergil cleared this place out. Its just a building like every other around here! An empty one at that- _

**_Scratch Scratch Scratch Scratch_ **

On instinct, Lady jolted backwards at the familiar sound. Gazing wide-eyed at the metal door she had been leaning against. That sound…it was coming from there. From inside that room. 

“Shit.” She swore in a shaky, high-pitched voice. Aiming her rocket launcher at the steel door. Something was in there. Something that didn’t sound entirely human. 

Whatever it was, its attempts to break free intensified in her presence. Lady could already see dent marks in the door, she had failed to notice before now. The way the metal bent, looked as though it was approaching the upper limit of what it could handle, as the enraged creature bashed against the door repeatedly like a war drum.

Lady began to moved towards the stairwell at the end of the corridor. Creating some distance between her and the creature on the verge of escape. A well timed move too, as the building began to shake violently as the monster attacked the internal structure of the building. Soon the metal latches of the door came flying right off the door at a terrifying speed. Smashing into the brick wall, and chipping it open collision. The steel door quickly followed soon after- 

**“GRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHH** ” The creature roared mightily. Coming charging out of the room and smashing into the brick wall just like the door. Its animalistic stupidity dazing it for a moment.

From the brief glimpse Lady got of it. All she could say it looked like was a man who had been transformed into a mutant hound. It still bore the features of a man, if not enlarged greatly, its fleshy arms and legs were still all there. But he had claws, fur and sharp fangs all over its body. 

Lady didn’t take long to admire its hideous features however. She let loose a barrage of powerful rockets, as she hurriedly climbed the stairwell. The smoke and fire quickly obscured the visibility in the cramped corridor. A good thing in certain respects, as it meant the enraged lesser demon couldn’t see her. But that also meant she couldn’t see it. 

When she reached the landing, she quickly threw her heavy rocket launcher over her back, and sprinted over to the nearest open room. Throwing herself inside and slamming the door shut. Finding herself in the presence of two familiar idiots. Standing alert, with their weapons pointed in her direction.

“We need to barricade this NOW!” 

* * *

“What’s going on, Lady?" Vergil asked in a commanding voice. 

“Lesser demon. Downstairs. It’s free.” The mercenary replied through raspy breaths. Stumbling away from the door towards the two demons. 

“Wait, shouldn’t the clean up have dealt with that shit?” Dante exclaimed, glancing over at his twin to get confirmation of some sort.

“Well they obviously haven’t, have they?!” Lady snapped breathless, leaning back against the whiteboard to catch her breath. She pointed towards the door. “Someone going to shove something in front of that door?”

“On it, babe!” Dante ran over the heavy office desk, and began to push it across the room. A painful screeching sound ringing out as its legs slid across the floor. 

“Where did you find this lesser demon, Lady?” Vergil inquired, glancing over at the exhausted woman with a serious look in his eyes. 

Lady took a moment to respond. Grasping her raw throat, between deep calming breaths. “Uhhhh… first door to the left when you enter the corridor?”

A look of horror suddenly appeared on Vergil’s face, as his mind began to connect the dots as to what had happened here. “They must have not touched those who were experimented on.” A sudden bang made him snap his head towards the barricaded door as the lesser demon began to besiege it. He grit his teeth tightly in anger at the clean up team's stupidity. “Foolishness!"

The lesser demon’s charges grew more enraged and powerful by the moment. Seemingly infuriated by the blockade blocking its path. The cheap wooden door frame started to buckle and snap in places. The furniture holding the door back trembled violently at the pressure being put on them every other moment at each charge. 

Having finished stacking what he could. Dante stumbled backwards from the almost comically large pile of chairs, tables, file boxes and whatever else he could get his hands on. “Hey, I don’t think that furniture is gonna hold this bad boy for long!” He yelled. He looked over his shoulder towards his twin, a look of uncharacteristic concern on his boyish face. “Verge, can you get Lady out of here?"

“Of course.” Vergil nodded. He strode over to the mercenary, forcefully thrusting the black laptop at her chest. “Hold onto this for me."

Startled by the suddenness of his actions, Lady wordlessly took hold of the laptop without much thought. Vergil then grabbed a hold of her wrist (maybe a little too tightly for her liking) and led her across towards the shattered window. She looked between the blue demon and the window in confusion. Raising an eyebrow as she tried to guess where the hell Vergil was going with this.

All of a sudden, without prior warning, Vergil slid his arms around her waist and moved backwards towards the window. His feet hanging dangerously off the edge of the windowsill. Lady’s breath caught in her throat when she saw the stark drop beneath them. 

“What the hell are you doing?!” Lady snapped in a panicked voice. Frantically trying to break free from his solid grasp to no avail. No matter how much she lurched forward or tried to slam her elbows into his solid arms. Nothing she did would break his hold, as Vergil started to lean backwards.

A bright blue light suddenly flashed behind her, as she felt her feet leave the safety of solid ground. They fell. Hitting the ground in a matter of seconds. 

Surprisingly enough, Lady felt no pain when the momentum came to an abrupt halt. No, rather she was laying on something very soft. Peaking her eyes open, she found a triggered Vergil laying beneath her. His face twisted in a pained grimaced, as he lay flat, sprawled out across the ground. Seemingly having no intention of moving for a while. 

His usually pristine hair was a complete mess too. Having seemingly broken free of its restraints, his long snowy hair had flopped down across his regal face. By all accounts he looked like an identical clone of Dante. Something that was both simultaneously interesting and deeply unsettling for Lady to see. She knew they were twins. But it had never dawned on her until now how much the two of them  _ really  _ looked alike!

The blue demon’s trigger started to fade away then. The nanotech skin, tightly covering his body in a metal shell, started to vanish without a trace. Leaving bruised, natural flesh in its metallic wake. The soft velvet of his royal blue coat appeared beneath her, as Vergil tilted his head up to look at her, glaring. 

“Can you get off of me?” He asked in a strained voice. Not looking too pleased in the slightest.

“Not until you apologize for doing that!” Lady yelled angrily. Gesturing a hand towards the shattered window above them. Her heart was still pounding rapidly in her chest. "Jesus Vergil! A little bit of warning would have been nice!”

“Is the laptop undamaged?” Vergil inquired uncaringly, sitting up with a pained grunt. 

Lady looked down at the device in her arms. Thankfully it seemed the laptop was perfectly fine. Not a single dent or chip in its metallic frame or paintwork. 

“Yeah it is!” Lady confirmed. Looking back up at the blue demon with a withering glare. “Could spare a little though for me though!”

An amused smile appeared on Vergil’s pinkish lips at her angry rebuttal. Slicking back his hair in one fell swoop with his hand. “You’re perfectly fine, woman.”

The mercenary let out a growl of frustration. Shoving the laptop back at Vergil’s chest. “Oh, don’t you  _ woman  _ me-” 

**“RAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!”** The roar of the lesser demon swiftly interrupted their argument. The loud sound of wood snapping, followed by a blast of wood-dust and grey smoke coming flying out of the shattered window, signalled that the small office had been breached by the creature. 

One which still had Dante inside. 

* * *

“You’re a nasty puppy aren’t you?” Dante joked playfully, as he started down the wolf-like creature head on. Thick smoke seeping up from downstairs and quickly filling the air around them. The heavy atmosphere growing more suffocating each and every second. 

The creature didn’t move to attack him immediately, instead it stood there in the destroyed entrance way growling angrily. A very polite move of it, if Dante had to say so himself! He always liked his pre-fight banter with his opponent. Whether this creature was sentient or not.

“Come on! You wanna go out on a walk or something?” He asked with a wide toothy grin, interpreting the lesser demons head tilts as a form of communication, as thick, bubbly drool came pouring out of its mouth.“We can do that-“

The creature did, however, seem somewhat disinclined to take that offer. It lunged at Dante mid-sentence, forcing him to parry a furious slash aimed at his face with his blade. Its speed was quite surprising, given its size, and the cramped quarters would not be any help in evading it either. Thus, going on the offensive seemed like the best idea to the demon. He ducked under another swipe that carved through the concrete wall behind him and jammed his sword upwards, trying to rid the lesser creature of its considerable strength. All he achieved was eliciting a pained snarl from it as it brought its other arm down right next to him, smashing through the floor he had stood on mere moments ago

_ Not good!  _ He thought, rolling across the room towards the broken window, as the creature kept slamming its humanoid paw down at him again and again. Barely missing him by hair’s length. Until-

It's sharp claw managed to catch Dante’s upper arm. Digging itself in and ripping the pale flesh apart with a single swipe. Leaving a deep, gaping wound in its wake.

Hissing painfully, Dante pulled himself up from the ground and lent back against the windowsill. Clutching his wounded arm, still holding Rebellion, tightly to his chest. Thick, crimson blood coming pouring out of the wound, as he tried to cover with his other hand. Only for it to drip through the gaps between his fingers. And dear lord did it hurt like a bitch!

“Let’s hope you didn’t have rabbis, huh?” Dante commented weakly. Gritting his teeth tightly as the stinging pain grew worse. He could only guess that the nanobots in his blood were getting to work attempting to repair the wound. At least, that’s what he hoped was happening!

The lesser demon cared little for his suffering however, as it scratched the ground with its claws preemptively. Preparing to deliver the finishing blow.

_ Welp, guess I don’t have many options left then!  _ Dante thought to himself, as he climbed up onto the windowsill. Taking a quick glance back at the wolf-like creature stretching the muscles of its grotesque body in preparation to pounce on its prey. It charged-

Without even flinching, Dante threw himself out of the window. Activating his trigger as he fell. He could feel the transformation take place throughout his body, even without the red flash of blinding light around him, signalling such a change. His hot, sweaty skin quickly became as cold as steel, while the vibrations of his crimson scarf flapping violently in the wind vanished all together. Replaced by the gentle swaying of his half-cloak tightly fixed to his shoulder. A tight overlay fixing itself onto his muscles like a latex suit. 

When he collided with the ground it felt as though someone had slapped him in the back, hard. Nothing felt broken or anything, nor was there any real pain aside from the gash across his arm. But it certainly sent a disorienting shockwave through his entire body. Sending the wind flying out of him in a pained gasp. 

“Dante! Are you alright!” He heard Lady’s panicked voice cry out nearby. At the sound of footsteps beating against the street floor, Dante rolled his head towards the sound. Finding the brunette coming rushing over to him.

Gentle hands soon slid under his head, and Dante felt himself being lifted up onto something soft. After a few disoriented moments of gazing up at the young woman’s blurry face. He realised he was resting on Lady’s lap. A Lady, who was tenderly caressing his face with her warm hands, and brushing locks of disheveled silver hair behind his ears, as she started down at him. A deep look of concern glinting in those colourful eyes of her’s. 

“With you looking after me like this, I sure am babe!” Dante chuckled weakly. He could not help but watch in amusement, as her soft face quickly turned a bright shade of red in a matter of seconds, above him. Soon earning a hard slap to the shoulder by the mercenary. 

“Shut up, Dante!” Lady snapped. Turning her head away in embarrassment, as she unceremoniously dropped him back onto the ground. 

“Done with your flirting, brother?” Vergil’s unimpressed voice remarked. Dante almost jumped in surprise when he found his elder brother standing over the lower half of his body ominously, with his arms crossed. “Is the lesser demon dead?”

“Nope!” Dante sighed softly, sitting up. He lifted up his half-healed arm to show his twin. “Got a pretty nasty wound from it though!”

Just as Vergil was opening his mouth to speak, the enraged growls of the lesser demon rang out from above them. The group looked up, finding the creature struggling to fit its large head through the tight window. Its beady black eyes glaring down at the trio, as its mouth began to dry up with unfulfilled bloodlust. Eventually it gave up, and stormed back off into the building. 

The trio let out a collective sigh of relief at the sight. 

“We should probably get going before it tries the main entrance next!” Lady stated in a hurried voice. Pushing herself up from the ground and adjusting the strap of her rocket launcher.

“Yeah, that’s probably a good plan!” Dante agreed, likewise doing the same. He deactivated his trigger, crimson scarf coming flopping down from the air behind him. He swayed towards his elder brother, hands resting on his hips casually. "Know where we’re going next, bro?”

“Yes.” Vergil confirmed in a distant voice. He looked down at the blade in his hand. Laptop in his other. “But I think we all need a break after...that.”

Dante auditable gasped at his twin’s declaration. Throwing his hands up to his mouth in fake surprise. “Oh my~ Did I hear that correctly? Is that my workaholic older brother slacking off from his mission?”

“We’re not working for the military right now, Dante. I…think we can take a few liberties now and again.” Vergil smirked softly to himself, as he sheathed his blade. Clearly relishing in the idea of what he was implying.

“Wait, so you are slacking off then?” Lady asked. Clearly summarising what he had tried to hide behind his eloquent vocabulary. A pink dusting quickly overtook the young man’s cheeks at her damming words.

Realising he had been caught out by the mercenary, the blue demon quickly turned away and began to walk off down the street. “I decline to answer.”

“Holy shit! He actually admitted it!” Dante cried in amazement, as a bright smile grew on his youthful face. In his manic excitement, he moved to pat Lady on the head enthusiastically. “I’m so damn proud of you, babe!”

“Hey! Get off me!” Lady snapped, shaking her head in an attempt to get his hand off it. As the pair followed on after the blue demon. Heading back off into the maze-like streets of the lower floor. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> Ho ho ho! So the cultist is actually Credo and Kyrie's dad! >:D
> 
> Being the classics buff that I am. I thought that naming him after Emperor Augustus would be a nice hint to the fact he acts as a foil to Vergil. Given the OG poet was a patron of his. (*Coughs* The Aeneid is totally not a Roman fan fiction of the Iliad and Odyssey). I hope to bring him in again next chapter, so do look forward to that!
> 
> There are also some other small things in this chapter I hoped were included well. I've never really written romance before, so attempting to do a Dante x Lady fic has been kinda daunting for me! Hopefully the hints I've dropped her can flourish into something more!
> 
> Anyway, support is always much appreciated! :D
> 
> Tumblr: https://louadorable126.tumblr.com


	5. Chapter 5 - Burgers and Meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!
> 
> Finally back after exams! My mind was completely done for after all that, so sorry for the long delay on updating!
> 
> Anyway please do enjoy! :D

When Vergil said he wanted to take a break, Lady certainly hadn’t expected…this.

After walking a few blocks away from the cult’s abandoned lab, the group had stumbled across a fast food truck cosily tucked away beneath a monorail bridge; the occasional train passing overhead and zooming passed in a matter of seconds. Needless to say, Dante had been quick to drag them over to such a ramshackle establishment, the moment his nose caught whiff the sizzling of meat on its grill. 

Before Lady knew it, she found herself left on her own in the middle of the road. Vergil had isolated himself away from his twin’s embarrassing display, as he mindlessly drooling over the truck's menu while resting his chin against the van’s rusted counter, by going over to one of the supporting pillars of the bridge and leaning back against it. Of course, he didn’t exactly look like he was in the mood for company; looking lost in thought as he gazed up at the towering layers cascading up to the metal sky above him. Vergil always seemed to have a way to project an aura of intense disinterest when he didn’t want to be spoken too. So not really knowing what to do with herself, Lady walked over to the fast food truck. 

“Hey kid, you gonna get anything or not?” The gruff, bearded, chef behind the counter asked in a polite tone. Wiping down his newly washed, worn tongs with a cloth.

“Uhhh give me a moment. It's hard to decide-“

“Not for me! Can I please have a hot dog?” Lady chimed in, as she approached. Standing beside the red demon. 

Startled, Dante quickly pushed himself away from the counter and looked over at her in surprise. 

“What? Thought you were the only one that was hungry?” Lady taunted with a sly smirk. 

“No! I- uh…” The demon frantically stumbled for his words, caught completely off guard by her bluntness. All of a sudden, he turned in the direction of the chef and threw up two fingers. “I’ll have two of the Mega burgers please!”

“Sure. That’ll be 7.50.” The older man informed them. Swapping his hand so a holographic payment screen appeared in front of the pair.

Lady swiftly pulled her phone out of her skirt pocket and tapped it against the screen. A moment later a bright green **“Payment Received”** sign appeared and the hologram vanished into thin air. With a pleased nod, the chef quickly got to work putting two meat patties onto his grill, followed by frying the spongy, inner section of the buns. 

“Two burgers, huh?” Lady asked curiously. Raising a playful eyebrow, as she crossed her arms. 

“Well, one’s for Verge.” Dante explained, taking a glance over his shoulder at his stoic twin. Resting the back of his head against the supporting pillar with his eyes shut, seemingly in some sort of ‘meditation’. “The guy will never admit he’s hungry. But Eva would totally kill me if she thought he hadn’t been fed!"

“Are you sure he’s going to like it?” Lady questioned in an unsure tone. Leaning in closer to Dante, and keeping her voice low, and away from the prying ears of the nearby chef. “Your brother doesn’t seem like a guy whose taste palate would fit... ** _this_** kind of place.”

“Nah! I’m sure he’ll be fine with it!” Dante reassured, waving his hand dismissively at the idea. 

Lady still didn’t 100% agree with Dante’s assumption; her gut instinct screaming at her that this was a terrible idea. But who was she to argue when she’d only known his brother for around a day or so? Dante had known him his whole life. “If you say so then."

The two quickly fell into silence after that. The space left empty by their words was quickly filled by the satisfying sound of sizzling and spitting from the grill, and the low tunes of a rock song escaping out of the nearby radio. Their meals were coming close to being done, as the chef applied two slices of cheese over the meat and went to go and stuff the hot dog into a bun. 

“Hey Lady…” Dante suddenly started to ask. His voice uncharacteristically soft in tone. Something that didn’t slip Lady’s notice, as she looked up at the boyish face hidden beneath that crimson hood of his. “What do you plan to do after me and Vergil leave?”

Well that certainly caught her off guard! At first, it seemed like such a strange thing for him to be asking. Part of her thought that they’d be together for a longer time yet. That even bringing up the idea that they would disband their small party seemed out of place at this moment. But, the more she thought about it, she started to realise where Dante was going with this.

Dante had found his brother, and by all means had completed the original mission he had set out for himself down here. It was only through Vergil’s intervention and insistence that they protect the true nature of their heritage that the boys were still here with her. Nothing more nothing less. And…well they were coming close to making that a reality. 

Granted, they had about as much a clue as her when it came to predicting where or whether the next ‘leak’ would appear. It could just be that they would have to deal with this cultist and then everything would be fine. No more work would have to be done and the brothers could return to their newly discovered mother for a heart to heart. That they would leave her, and she’d return to a mundane life without the thrill or adventure she had experienced over the last few days. 

And if Lady had to be honest…she didn’t really want to go back to that. 

A swell of anxiety started to curl in her stomach. She opened her mouth to speak, her breath heavy with conflicted emotion. 

“Well…I’d probably just go back to working as a mercenary under Morrison. Don’t think much else would change really.” She answered honestly, with a small shrug. 

Yet, a part of her couldn’t just leave it at that. A nagging sensation reminded her that things would change once he and his brother finally left. Maybe it was because of an overwhelming sense of sentimentality she’d grown to feel towards the demon. But Lady didn’t want him to think she wouldn’t care for his departure when it finally came. That she wasn’t thankful for what he’d done for her.

She leaned back against the trucks metal counter, letting out a small sigh, as she looked out into the distinct wistfully “But, you know....I think I’d miss your dumb ass. Things will be much less fun around here without you!”

“Who are you calling a dumb ass?” Dante whined in a jovial voice. He obviously wasn’t particularly offended by her slight jab, if that sly smile playing on his lips anything to go by. Lightheartedly poking her shoulder. 

Lady couldn’t help but smile too, as she raised her hands in defence. “What? I’m just speaking the truth-“

“Alright you lovebirds! Meal's ready!” A deep voice from behind interrupted. At the sound, the pair quickly turned around. Finding the bearded chef standing directly behind them with a brown paper bag seeped with grease in one hand, and a cardboard container with a hotdog sticking out of it in the other. 

_Oh god! Not this again!_ Lady cursed in the back of her mind. Unable to save herself from the rush of heat flooding her cheeks with red, as she gingerly took the items off the man and quickly handed the paper bag over to Dante by shoving it at his chest. Head tilted down shamefully throughout. _I’m never going to hear the end of this! Why does everything think just because we’re around the same age he’s my boyfriend! It's so infuriating-_

“Thank you” She mumbled in a small voice to the chef. Cutting off her inner turmoil before it could rise to the surface. Keeping her cool as she ever so calmly grabbed Dante’s wrist and forcefully dragging him away from as fast as she could physically move. Which wasn’t that fast given that Dante was already briskly walking ahead of her, when they reached Vergil. Earning her a curious look from the blue demon, as he watched his twin seemingly lead _her_ along. Dammit! She could only imagine what he was thinking! _Stupid demons and their speed!_

Without a second's hesitation, she quickly let go of Dante’s wrist. Letting Dante’s arm drop down limply, as she threw her hand up to her face and rubbed it tiredly. Trying to compose herself before all logical thought left her and she did something she’d regret. Well, if she hadn’t already. All Lady wanted to do was pray the ground would open up and swallow her whole right now!

Dante however, was completely obvious to this. Freed from her grasp, he swiftly wandered over to his nearby twin and pulled out a neatly wrapped burger, in a cream coloured napkin, out of the paper bag and presenting it to him proudly. "Bon Appetit, bro!”

Vergil looked down at the item in bemusement. As though he had not been expecting his brother to present him such a ‘gift’. Hesitantly, he reached out and gently took it from his brother’s hands. “You didn’t need to get me this, Dante. I’m not particularly famished right now.”

“Yeah yeah! Keep saying that to yourself!” Dante said disbelievingly, waving his brother off. 

He pulled his burger out of the paper bag and quickly scrunched it up into a tight ball. Looking around for a bin, the red demon was lucky enough to spot one only a couple of meters away from the group. Never being one to pass up a challenge, Dante attempted to throw the scrunched up paper bag into bin’s open mouth at a startling speed. Sending it hurtling through the air and almost barely missing its target by a small margin, if not for the light breeze that had swept in to save the day. At the sound of the small metallic clank, made by the ball as it hit the inside of the steel container, Dante fist pumped in victory as he spun back around to face Vergil. Who was shaking his head in disapproval of his little brother’s antics. 

“Come on! You can’t say that wasn’t cool!” Dante exclaimed passionately. Pointing at his grumpy brother’s person with a burger in hand.

“I see nothing _‘cool’_ about littering, little brother.” Vergil said coldly. Not taking his eyes off his brother, as he unwrapped his meal with one hand. “If you had missed that shot, you would have to be the one to clear it up. Not me." 

“But I didn’t miss, did I?” Dante pointed out, smugly. Vergil didn’t react to his retort however. His face remained cold and impassive, barely showing a hint of emotion as he glared at his twin. An invisible tension began to mount between the two of them. Rising up until it reached its breaking point, when Dante admitted defeat with a roll of his eyes. “Alright fine! By the way, Lady's the one who bought this meal for us. So might wanna thank her a little!”

“Wha-“ Lady blurted out at the mention of her name. Not expecting to be brought back into the conversation so abruptly. Dropping her hand and letting her vision focus, when she came to her senses, she found Vergil staring at her with an awkward smile. One that looked rather forced, uncomfortable, and….ok somewhat terrifying if she had to be honest! 

“Thank you…..for this.” He said in a stilted voice. Seemingly trying his best to remain polite while obviously not caring much for what he was thanking her for, like a child who got a knock off toy for Christmas.

“Oh! Uh…no worries!” Lady said awkwardly. Trying her best not to wither under that unsettling smile of his. She glanced down at the hotdog in her hand and quickly took a small bite out of it. Gosh, it had been ages since she had one! She’d almost forgotten how good they were! 

Wiping away a few small crumbs from her mouth with the back of her hand, she looked back up at the two dumbfounded brother’s awkwardly staring at her while she ate. “You guys going to start eating or not? This stuff’s going to get cold soon!” She exclaimed in a muffled voice, mouth filled with food. 

Without another word, Dante quickly tore open the napkin covering his burger and began to dig into it. He let out a moan of pleasure as he ate, seemingly enjoying every bite with that blissful expression on his face. It always fascinated Lady how Dante could be so pleased by anything he ate. She honestly wouldn’t have taken him as a foodie to be honest. Expecting him to be a rebellious picky eater who could only enjoy fast food and would sustain himself on nothing else. 

Ironically enough, however, that title seemingly went to his brother. Vergil had yet to touch his burger in the slightest. Instead, he had pulled back the burger's wrapping and bun ever so slightly, and awkwardly poked its inner contents with his finger and gave it a rigorous examination before it went anywhere near his mouth. It was obviously not a pleasant conclusion however, as a growing look of vile disgust formed on his fair features. His face twisting and distorting as though he was on the verge of throwing up, as he quickly pulled back his finger and hastily whipped it down with his napkin. 

“Is this thing made out of rodent?” Vergil commented maybe a _bit_ too loudly. Causing the food trucks chef peaked his head up in interest a few meters away. 

“Uhhh...might wanna keep it down a little, Vergil!” Lady said in a hushed voice, chewing on her food. Catching sight of the man’s movements out of the corner of her eye. Worrying that the chef might kick them out of the area, the mercenary quickly spun back around to check on the older man. Thankfully, Lady was relieved to find, however, that the bearded chef sat back down in his truck, and was nodding his head to the beat of the radio. 

“I’m not eating this.” The blue demon asserted coldly. He took a step forward. Moving to walk past his brother, as he headed towards the bin. 

All of a sudden, he was stopped by a strong arm appearing in front of him and reaching out across his chest, blocking his way. 

“Hold it right there, princess!” Dante said in a muffled voice. Stopping for a moment taking a bite out of his own burger. “Look, it's not that bad! In fact I think these burgers are pretty tasty! So I’m not sure what you're being a crybaby about bro! But, I’m not gonna let your waste a perfectly good meal-“ Dante reached out to his brother with open hand. “Hand it over if you don’t want it.”

Vergil slapped away his brother’s hand with a growl. “I’m not a crybaby, Dante! I just have standards for what I put into my body!” He paused for a moment, taking a deep, shaky breath. Looking down at the burger in his hand with a hard, determined glare, as though he was facing down a fearsome foe in combat. "This meal is mine, and mine alone. Not yours, little brother! If you wish for me to prove to you that I can eat it. Then I will! "

Finishing his dramatic monologue, and without a second's hesitation, Vergil bought the burger up to his mouth and slammed his teeth into it in one mighty, powerful bite. Sending a spray of sickly-sweet, bright red ketchup sauce flying out of the other end of the burger and into Dante’s face. Covering him with sauce like a tasty face paint. 

“Pffffffff!” Lady burst out into roaring laughter at the comical sight. To which she was soon joined by Dante, seemingly completely uncaring for the ketchup splattered across his face as he chuckled. Ironic, as Vergil's regal face quickly turned the same bright red shade as his tomato covered brother’s, at their mocking. Deathly embarrassed, Vergil quickly turned away from the pair of them and stormed over to the nearby bin and slammed his burger inside.

As he walked back from the bin, Lady couldn’t help but feel bad for the blue demon. He was obviously trying to play off that he didn’t care about what had just transpired. His face marred with his usual stoic frigidity, icy eyes hard and lips pressed together in a firm line, actively schooling his features so that he looked emotionless. Yet, as the bright red blush slowly left his cheeks, he couldn’t hide the light, pink dusting covering his sharp cheekbones. It was both hilarious and endearing to see. Hell, Lady might even have gone as far as to say it was…. _cute_. 

Vergil walked back over to the pillar and picked his sword up off the ground, right next to the black laptop haphazardly leaning against the concrete structure. Held it close to his chest protectively, in his crossed arms, as he stubbornly gazed up at a futuristic, bullet-like train rumbling past overhead. Although, not loud enough to cover up the sound of a stomach growling in annoyance. Given that she and Dante had certainly eaten their fair share, by process of elimination it seemed Vergil was hungrier than he let on. 

Taking pity on the young man, Lady awkwardly split off the untouched end of her hotdog, and strolled over to him. She coughed lightly to gain his attention, and when his fearsome gaze fell on her, she swiftly presented her peace offering with a soft smile. “Here, take half of mine.”

Vergil raised a curious, pale eyebrow at her offer from beneath his hood. Still looking uncomfortable at the idea of eating anything from the food truck. The brunette suspected that it was going to take a bit more convincing to get him to concede to her demands. 

“I-uh...saw a jar of branded hotdog sausages in the van. So there shouldn’t be anything weird in it if you're worrying about that.“ She was reassured. Rubbing the back of her slim neck with her free hand.

At the news of the hotdog's authenticity, Vergil hesitantly took the uneaten half from Lady’s hand. A small smirk creeping onto his pinkish lips as he gazed down at the meal in his grasp. “Thank you, Lady.” He said in a soft voice. There was a hint of…something behind that tone, however. Something indecipherable to the mercenary. 

She didn’t have time to question it too much though, as Dante walked over to the pair of them rubbing down his boyish face with the torn remains of his napkin. It seemed he’d done a successful job of clearing away much of the ketchup covering his face, however the odd spots still remained around his jawline and chin. Apparently only the top half of his face really counted when it came to cleaning himself. 

“Hey, you doing alright bro?” Dante asked in a concerned voice, as he casually leaned back against the concrete pillar beside the blue demon. “Don’t worry too much about what happened. There’s a reason I wear red!”

“I thought it was because Eva got annoyed every time you came back from a mission drenched in blood, dirt and god knows what else attaches itself to you.” Vergil pointed out, without missing a beat. Looking over at his twin with a fond, yet taunting gaze. Knocking Dante off guard for a brief second, before he quickly recovered. 

“Heh…well I suppose that’s true! But this just proves it has other uses!” Dante lightly pat his twin on the shoulder affectionately. “Anyway, enjoy your meal bro! Let’s hope no special sauce leaks out of the other end this time!”

Dante winked at his brother with a cheeky grin as he finished talking. At first Vergil ignored him, moving to bite into his hotdog regardless. It was only after a second of processing what his twin had said, the cogs in his brain clicking into motion, that the young man realised what he was implying. His pale face quickly flushing with bright red once again. His sharp teeth just stopped shy from the hotdog's delicate bun, before slamming his mouth shut. Gritting his teeth together so tightly that his jaw began to shake. 

The mercenary started to step backwards, already anticipating the ticking time bomb about to go off before her, as Vergil moved to click open Yamato’s blade with his free hand. A murderous glint in his blue eyes as he slowly tilted his head up and glared at his unassuming twin - still resting his hand on the blue demon’s shoulder. Toothy grin still etched into his features like he had been turned to stone. 

_I should probably get myself a soda!_ Lady thought to herself wisely. Breaking off in a sprint towards the food truck, the moment a flash of bright blue light sparked off behind her, out of the corner of her eye.

“DANTEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!” 

* * *

While the slums of the lower floor were notoriously known to be ugly, dark, dirty and pollution ridden hell holes. As it turned out…there were a few exceptions to this rule. 

When the group finally arrived at Augustus’ address. They were shocked to discover he lived in, what many would call, a small slice of paradise tucked away in this concrete jungle. A row of cosy, yet robust houses stood leading out into a small community park. There was no greenery or grass however within this area. The low light level in the slums made it impossible for any life to grow down here. Leading to the patch of land only being a dry wasteland of beaten down mud, cracking with age and lack of moisture. Not particularly attractive by any means. Yet somehow, the residence had taken it upon themselves to beautify the area as best they could. 

A myriad of wooden boxes containing artificial, glass flowers lined the area around the small park. Each one seemingly handmade by someone, in all different shapes and vibrant colours. Walking past them, it was easy to identify which real flower they were meant to represent, thanks to their remarkable craftsmanship. Roses, Lilies, Peonies, and tulips were just a few Dante could spot within the pots. Reflecting a rainbow of different colours onto the crumbling, concrete pavement, as the fairy lights - that had been scattered in-between the different flowers - twinkled softly. 

A small group of boys were playing in the park. Throwing a ball between one another and attempting to land shots in a leaning basketball hoop. Laughing brightly to one another and letting out a roaring cheer when one of them managed to get one ball through. It was a very domestic scene. And if Dante had to choose somewhere to live if he was trapped in the slums, he’d sure as hell chose here! This cultist had damn good taste to say the least. 

The group approached a house at the end of the row. Lady was at the front of the group, looking down at a map on her phone that had been leading them to the cultist’s address that Vergil had given her. When they reached the front door, she glanced up from her device and spun around to face the twins with a satisfied nod. “This should be the place!”

“Good.” Vergil said ominously. The blue demon walked past her and knocked on the door. It didn’t go unnoticed by Dante however, how his brother kept his hand firmly resting on his blade as he patiently waited for someone to answer the door. 

A moment or two later, the door opened and revealed a heavily pregnant woman standing there. Wearing a very loose fitting, white maternity dress; she had a gentle, tried face, framed by light brown hair falling to shoulder height. Her caramel eyes were kind, as she started on her visitors. Smiling softly at them, even as her eyebrows raised in confusion. 

“Oh! Hello there! I wasn’t really expecting visitors at this time!” The woman chuckled softly. She began to turn away. “If this is about our donations, I’ll go get the money now-“

“We are not with the Cult of Fortuna, woman.” Vergil interjected, grabbing a hold of the pregnant woman’s wrist. He didn’t hold it too tightly however, as he swiftly loosened his hold a second later and dropped it when she looked back up at him, startled. “We wish to speak with your husband…Augustus. I have some business to discuss with him.”

The woman seemed to have some innate understanding where he was coming from, even if he didn’t say it explicitly. She hastily glanced over her shoulder and into the house, then back over at the group, before giving a small nod. “Alright. He’s currently making lunch right now. But you can wait in the hallway until he’s done if you wish!”

“That works for me. Thank you.” Vergil said politely. At his words, the pregnant woman stepped aside and allowed them to enter. 

The blue demon went in first, then followed by Lady who also muttered a polite thank you when she crossed the boundary into the home. Dante was last to enter, hands resting in his pockets causally as he stepped through the door. He couldn’t help but let out an impressed whistle, as he examined the area around him. _Well isn’t this pretty damn cosy!_

The hallway itself, while small, was remarkably homely and warm in its decoration. The walls were covered in a cream wallpaper, with faded golden swirls covering. There weren’t many family photos up, given how young this family seemed. So, to make up for this, there were several framed ‘prayers’ and inspirational messages hung up around the area. A brown and cream woollen rug, most likely knitted by hand, lay across much of the hallway floor. While an oak table, pressed against the rising wall of the stairwell to the second floor, held a selection of neatly organised post laid to rest in their proper pigeon holes of a small cupboard, alongside a piggy bank painted in a mess of colours by a child, and an arrangement of the same glass flowers from outside in a clear vase. 

Just as the pregnant woman closed the door behind them. A small child popped his head out of the nearby living room door. He couldn’t be no older than four, and he seemed insatiably curious about the group of strangers who had just entered his home. He cautiously stepped out into the hallway and tugged on his mother’s hand. “Mummy, who are these people?”

The pregnant woman kneeled down and attempted to kneel down. But given her current stage of pregnancy, she struggled to reach the boy’s height without almost falling over. She seemed to quickly realise this wasn’t going to work however, and so with a self-deprecating chuckle at her poor decision making, she instead placed a hand on her son’s mop of bright brown hair and stroked it lovingly. Running a hand through his soft locks. “They’re here to see your father apparently. Do you want to introduce yourself to them while mummy goes and gets daddy?”

“Sure!” The boy said enthusiastically. Once his mother departed down the corridor and into the room at the very end of it. He proudly clutched his chest, hand balled into a fist as he tightly held his clothing, and stood up straight like he was a soldier in the military. “My name is Credo. What are your names?”

“I’m not inclined to say-'' Vergil started to say, before Lady elbowed him hard in the side. The blue demon’s head snapped in her direction angrily. Despite not being able to see his eyes beneath the shadows of his blue hood, Lady could sense the withering glare he was giving her from a mile away. She brushed it off of course. The mercenary knew she was in the right here. Not him. And so, with a warm smile, she squatted down to the boy’s height to meet him face on. 

“My name’s Lady. You can ignore the other two if you want.” She chuckled softly, resting a hand on the boy’s shoulder. "They both seem to have a superpower for doing stupid things. Guess it comes with being identical twins." 

“Oi!” Dante cried in offense. 

Lady looked over her shoulder at the red demon. “You know its true-“

“Woah! I’ve never met any identical twins before!” Credo gasped in amazement. Rushing past Lady to look up at the two large, hooded figures behind her. “Can I see your faces?”

While a part of Dante wanted to satisfy the small boy’s request, finding it hard to resist his puppy dog eyes looking up at him. The demon had the foresight to know such an act would probably be a bad idea right now - even if it would keep the kid occupied for a bit - given that his mother was probably going to come back into the room at any second, possibly accompanied by the guy they were after. 

Checking that he wasn’t being irrational for no reason. Dante took a quick glance over at his brother, and even without words, he could tell Vergil thought the same as him. Shaking his head adamantly in refusal at such an idea.

“Sorry kid, you’ll just have to imagine for yourself!” Dante started with a shrug. 

“But I want to see! Please just show me!” Credo begged childishly. He grabbed ahold of the end of Dante’s red scarf and began to pull it desperately. “Please, please, please!”

“Nope.” Dante said simply. Crossing his arms and turning his head away from the kid stubbornly. 

The boy let out an annoyed whine at that, and began to pull the scarf even harder. Eventually pulling so hard that Dante’s hood came cascading down. On instinct, he tried to pull it back up as fast as he could, but the damage had been done. As not only did the young boy catch sight of his incriminating, unnatural features……but also the boy’s mother coming back into the room. 

The little boy’s face lit up with excitement at the sight of his strange appearance. His big brown eyes wide. “Wow! You have white hair! Is that something all twins have-“

His mother let out a panicked yelp behind him. Causing not only Credo, but the group to turn and look at her. The poor woman looked absolutely terrified at the sight of Dante, freezing up like a deer caught in the headlights, while her body visibly trembled with fear. Dante watched as she half-heartedly attempted to school her features into something more nondescript and calm, as she spoke to her son. 

“Credo, can you go to your room for a moment?"

The boy, surprisingly enough, didn’t even so much as attempt to fight against her request. Mostly likely hearing the same sincere and starkly frightened tone the rest of them could sense laced within her simple words. With a small nod, Credo ran upstairs. The sound of a door shutting ringing through the deathly silence house, as the pregnant woman finally lost all composure. Falling to her knees and bowing her head. The sound of a hoarse, half-sob escaping her throat as she trembled uncontrollably. 

“So you’ve found us then?” She murmured weakly. Tears began to escape from her empty brown eyes, as she slowly looked up at the group solemnly. Her thin pink lips twitching in and out of a weak smile. “I’ll do anything the demonic authorities want. Comply with any of your demands. Just please….don’t hurt my family!”

It then finally clicked with Dante why she was acting like this. She thought they were here on behalf of the demonic authorities. Granted, Dante would also jump to the same conclusion if a bunch of demons appeared at his front door, fully armed with weapons in hand (well at least he wasn’t holding his right now, unlike a certain someone and their katana girlfriend). But it didn’t make the situation any less awkward! 

Just as Dante was about to speak up to calm the hysterical woman, her husband suddenly walked out from the kitchen. The demon couldn’t help but cringe internally at the bad timing, as he watched the man's eyes grow wide with alarm. Physically flinching into almost a half battle stance, one foot forward as though he were preparing to charge.

The small room became thick with tension; mounting exponentially with every silent moment that passed. Both sides seemingly on the verge of triggering their nanotech skin, as a strange aura glowed off the three men. Dante’s red, Vergil’s blue, and Augustus’ a weaker green colour. The tense silence occasionally being interrupted by the cultist's, seemingly forgotten, wife’s heart-wrenching sobs escaping her every now and again. Curling into herself, as she stroked her maternity bump. 

Soon, Lady couldn’t stand it anymore. The uncomfortable wait for carnage to issue was becoming too much to bear. Letting out a brave exhale, she walked out in front of the two groups. Raising the palm of her hands in the direction of both parties. “Alright, calm down everyone! No one is going to start fighting the other if I can help it.” She stated firmly; glancing between the brothers and the fearful, ash-blond haired man. 

“Look, this is just one big misunderstanding! I swear we’re not at all here on the orders of the demonic military. In fact I’m not even associated with them! I’m just a mercenary!” The cultist grew visibly more alarmed by the mention of her profession; the dull green light and him pausing brighter around him for a brief second. Ok, that sounded better in her head! But it still made more sense to be bluntly honest right now, rather than lying. She continued; “Not that I’ve been hired to go after your family, or anything like that! But- so can we just please sit down and talk this one out? The boys can leave their weapons at the door if it would make your more comfortable, mister uh-"

“My name is Augustus.” The soft-spoken man informed her. Letting out a relieved sigh, his frame relaxing slightly, as the ominous green glow dissipated around him, leaving the hallway significantly darker than moments before. “And yes, that seems like a good plan.”

The man lent down and helped his shaky wife stand back up. It was more clear than ever in those moments that he was some form of knock off demon, with the unnatural strength he displayed in lifting the pregnant woman up. Having one arm wrapped around her chest that she clung onto as she rose. Their faces met one another when she was back on her feet. Augustus gently stroked her cheek, wiping away a few tears in the process as he spoke; “Penelope, why don’t you watch lunch for me while I deal with our guests?”

“Sure.” She said softly, pulling her husband close and embracing him tightly for a brief moment, before pulling away and swiftly disappearing into the kitchen. 

When she was gone, the cultist gestured to an open door to the right of him. “There should be a cupboard next to you where you can leave your weapons. I’ll just be in the dining room waiting for you.”

With that said, he walked into the dinning room. Leaving the group to awkwardly glance at one another, before dumping their weapons inside the storage cupboard and following after the man. 

* * *

“I still can’t believe it. Eva not only had two sons, but you're both twins!” Augustus exclaimed in amazement. Looking at the two brother’s sitting before him with their hoods down. “Honestly it explains an awful lot to be fair. I did think it was rather strange that you were wearing such…revealing clothes, Vergil."

“For reasons like that, I sometimes wish I was her only son…” Vergil muttered darkly. "The brief time between our births was the best few minutes of my life.”

“Aw, come on! Don’t say that bro!” Dante cried dramatically, throwing an arm around his brother’s shoulders and pulling his torso towards him. “Your life would be so much more boring without me!”

“A pleasant life.” Vergil insisted in a monotone voice. Sitting straight up in his chair and pretending as though his obnoxious twin hanging off him wasn’t there. 

Lady was sat to the other side of Dante; close to the dinning room door and where their host sat. She watched as Augustus’ wife Penelope walked into the room with a tray of hot drinks, and gently lowered it down onto the small dining table. 

Much to the Mercenary's relief it seemed that both she and her husband were now much calmer than before. Seemingly having adjusted to their presence within their household. She supposed she had Dante and Vergil to thank for that. Ever since they had sat down, Augustus had been incredibly curious about their lives, like an uncle at a family dinner. He obviously bore some sort of connection to them through their mother Eva, and as far as Lady could tell there was no malicious intent behind his inquiries. So hopefully they could get him to delete those receipts with little trouble. 

“Thank you for the coffee.” Lady told the pregnant woman passing her by politely, as she picked up a flower patterned cup from the tray. Earning her a small smile from the woman in return, before vanishing from the room. 

Augustus likewise also took a cup from the tray. Holding it in-between his hands as he gazed down at his reflection within the steaming liquids surface. “I suppose we should discuss why you came here then, shouldn’t we?” The man sighed deeply. His shoulders slouching as fast as the cheerful mood in the room plummeted. “If it's because you’ve discovered my true nature and have come to see for yourselves, then….I’m incredibly thankful you haven’t alerted your superiors already. You saw for yourselves how terrified my wife is of us being discovered.”

“Yes.” Vergil nodded understandingly. “It seems we are both in a similar situation right now. Perhaps, we can help one another…”

Vergil reached into the pocket of his blue coat and pulled out a steel card. He laid it to rest flat on the table’s surface, and swiftly tapped on the card, activating its holographic function, as a ghostly light blue UI suddenly popped into existence. Before either Lady or Dante got a chance to see what was displayed on the UI, Vergil then slid the card across the table to Augustus. Who, upon catching sight of the ridiculously large monetary figure on display, physically jolted backward in surprise. 

“In demonic culture, half-breeds may as well be cattle for the slaughter. By law we are to be hunted down and exterminated if we are discovered. Which, given as you already know Eva is our birth mother, our father has spent most of our lives trying to cover up the fact that they ever had the slightest of interaction, let alone a romantic relationship. Everything, expect their old receipts from your cafe.” Vergil explained. His regal features deathly serious.“I don’t care if they don’t explicitly implicate our parents by name. We just want them gone. And so, I’m willing to pay whatever you want to have that data expunged from the cloud.”

To his surprise, Augustus suddenly burst out into laughter. Swiping away the holographic interface with his hand and turning it off. “Well that’s quite an offer, isn’t it? But I’m afraid even if I wanted to take your money, I couldn’t. The Cult of Fortuna controls all my finances. They would undoubtedly get suspicious if they saw _that_ amount of money being dumped into my bank account.”

“Well couldn’t you put it into a shell account? I’m sure one of us could help you set one up-“ Lady started to suggest, before Augustus swiftly raised his hand to cut her off. 

“The cult would already know you’ve been here. They keep a tight surveillance on every member, including when they are at home.”

Vergil froze. A sharp gasp escaping from his tight throat without permission, as he choked on his own breath over what Augustus was implying with that simple statement. A looming sense of overwhelming dread overtaking him.

If the Cult of Fortuna were monitoring this home, that would mean they overheard **_everything_ ** he just said. Every incriminating word **_he_ **had uttered. How could he have been so foolish!?

Dante, likewise, was also freaked out by the implications of what the man was saying. Jumping up from his chair and slamming his hands down onto the table. “Shit! They don’t have any bugs in here do they?”

“No only on the outside.” Augustus reassured softly. 

Dante heaved a huge sigh of relief at that. Collapsing back down onto his wooden chair. “Phew! Thank fuck for that!"

“But it's that very reason that even if I wanted to remove those receipts I couldn’t.” Augustus looked hesitant for a moment. Opening his mouth to speak once or twice, as though to say something else, only for no sound to escape him. His sunken, hazelnut eyes looked down and away from the trio shamefully, as he clutched his mug more tightly between his callous hands. “Well, that and I have a certain sentimental attachment to those accounts from my old cafe. It's the only thing I have left of that time now... of your dearly departed mother, aside from my memory of it.”

“Dearly departed!?” Dante exclaimed loudly. “Dude, where the hell did you get that idea from? She’s still very much alive and kicking, thank you very much!!” 

“Alive!?” Augustus blurted out in shock. His brown eyes quickly dashing over to Vergil for answers. To which the blue demon nodded in silent confirmation, before he awkwardly took a small sip of tea in an attempt to dispel any attention aimed in his direction. He didn’t particularly want his little brother to know he was to blame for this miscommunication, with how passionate he was being about this matter right now. 

“Yeah and if you don’t delete them. I doubt she’s gonna stay that way for much longer!” Dante insisted, leaving a dramatic pause for effect as though to emphasise the finality of the matter. Of course, this didn’t last long however, with Dante calming a little, and rubbing the back of his neck bashfully. “Ok, I’m exaggerating a little. But still better safe than sorry!"

“Perhaps I’m being too selfish then….” Augustus mumbled to himself faintly. He raised a hand to his chin, pondering something serious for a moment. His bushy brows furrowing deeply in concentration. Eventually he came to his final verdict and looked back up at the group, strong determination stretched across his hardened features. “Alright, I’m willing to go to a databank and delete those receipts. All I ask is for you to carry out a... _small favour_ for me.” 

“And what would that be?” Vergil inquired, leaning forward in interest. A nagging part of him, hidden away in the back of his mind, could already sense there was going to be some sort of catch to this man’s offer. The demon had learned from experience that no ’small’ task was ever that small. His first meeting with this cultist on a seemingly _‘mundane’_ mission was already proof of that fact. 

“How much do you know of the Cult of Fortuna’s leadership?”

“A guy called Sanctus runs it, right?” Lady asked hesitantly. She had heard the man’s name on several occasions when she went past that preacher on her way to Morrison’s bar. The mercenary could only assume he was either their leader or some sort of holy messiah, given how he was always mentioned to be a ‘bringer of salvation’. _God I’d completely forgotten how fucking weird those cultists were! Thank goodness this guy seems more normal than the rest of them._

“That’s certainly correct my dear girl. But that only scratches the surface of how the cult is organised. Under him, there are four different heads of separate divisions; Science, Recruitment, Enforcement and Finance.” Augustus pointed a finger to a different person's cup at the mention of each division. Carefully withdrawing his hand back to the cup’s warm ceramic side when he finished. "As you can probably guess, I only ever worked under the Science division in admin. A…rather unpleasant man called Agnus was my superior-“

“Right, but what does that have to do with this favour?” Dante interrupted impatiently. 

The man shut his mouth awkwardly at the demon's interruption. A self-conscious expression quickly overtaking his worn features, as though he hadn’t realised what he had been doing. “Sorry! I should have realised I was rambling. I’ll cut to the point I suppose?” Augustus said earnestly, before continuing again in a more serious tone.

“Every few months a charity ball is thrown by the cult in order to incise new wealthy members into joining the Cult of Fortuna, on the promise that they can rise above to the glorious status of a demon if they donate to the cause. Of course, this is all lies! I’ve seen for myself that we’re nowhere near getting anywhere the official conversion process, 3/4th of our test subjects were complete failures and it's only by some miracle that I didn’t join them! Alongside the obvious fact the demonic authorities would simply refuse entry to any unauthorised people trying to enter. But you’d be surprised by how many people believe this.” 

“I can imagine.” Lady said understandingly. While for obvious reasons, she had never wanted to become a demon. She could certainly see how frustrated a wealthy individual must feel being trapped down here in this dark, polluted underworld. No amount of money was going to change those conditions. So it was only going to be a matter of time till someone decided to exploit such an insecurity amongst the wealthy. 

Augustus took a sip from his mug and continued; “Typically, Sanctus and the heads of all these divisions are in attendance at these events. Meaning that if something...lets say were to happen to them. Such as at the next gathering in a few days time. The whole cult would likely collapse within a matter of days.”

“Woah! Hang on a second there, mister! You want us to go in there and kill the leadership of the cult?” Dante asked, utter bewilderment at what this man was asking of them clear within his boyish voice.

Augustus blinked in confusion at the demon's reservation. “Well, I would have thought you demons would like the opportunity to take down the cult-“

“Dante’s right. This doesn’t sound like a 'small favour' by any means.” Vergil’s firm voice cut him off sharply; the biting inflection of every word he spoke laced with potent suspicion. As his icy eyes bore down on the man with a frighting voracity, like he were a powerful Avalanche hurtling towards a helpless climber, powerless against the force of nature above him. “Moreover, I’m surprised a loyal member such as yourself would wish to have your leadership assassinated. Is there something you’re not telling us, Augustus? 

“Oh no! I swear my intentions are pure!” Augustus insisted, raising his hands in surrender. Sitting up ramrod straight and to attention, as hints of a slight shiver appeared in his shoulders. His whole body trembling faintly under Vergil’s dagger-like gaze. There was a certain tone to his voice, a certain honesty, that radiated now just like it had done during their first meeting. And as that interaction proved, the man was not lying about the things he said. Vergil could only assume that applied to now as well. 

The blue demon began to back down then. Leaning back in his chair, and reducing his ferocious glare to that of a look of mild scepticism. “Continue.” He asked. 

Released of Vergil’s invisible hold over him, Augustus let out a shuddering sigh of relief, before speaking in a gentle voice; “I never joined the cult out of some sort of religious calling. I thought it would be a way to improve my life after it came crashing down on me. I suppose in some strange way it has! I would’ve never met my wife if not for joining them!” A soft laughter escaped him upon saying that. Yet it was clear there was a great deal of underlying unease behind it. 

He shook his head before carrying on; "But…I don’t want to see Credo and Kyrie grow up in a world, with them looming over my children. To have them be indoctrinated into such a web of vile lies-“ He cut himself off. Face twisting and distorting in disgust as though there was something vile and sour tickling his tongue its pungent flavour. "I would be failing my duty as a parent to them. As a father.”

“That’s understandable.” Lady said sympathetically. She knew he was coming from a place of fatherly love. But it still didn’t make the task ahead of them any easier if they chose to take that route. _Assassinating the heads of a major group like them..._

The two demons seemed to have the same thought as her. Both exchanging a myriad of glances between one another, as though they were carrying some sort psychic conversation between just the two of them. Hell, for all she knew they could very well be doing just that! It honestly wouldn’t shock her very much at this point!

Eventually the two brothers nodded in agreement with one another, and Vergil turned back to face Augustus.

“We’ll see what we can do.” He said simply. Placing his now empty tea cup back on the tray with a clank, before rising from his chair. 

“Yeah not making any promises though!” Dante chimed in, likewise doing the same as his elder brother. Glancing over at the still seated mercenary with a devilish smile. 

It was remarkably...warm and inviting. Making her stomach feel all fuzzy inside, for some strange reason that she could not place. Heart-rate fluttering to life without her consent, under that bright, mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes - fixed directly on her and her alone. "You up for some good 'ol fashioned infiltration, babe?"

Was there any doubt to her answer? All she had to do was go to some party and murder a few lunatics. If anything, it sounded like an everyday job to someone in her line of work! Minus the fancy dressings and etiquette that were probably going to go along with it. _You've got nothing to worry about, it'll be fine, just go!_

She got up from her creaking chair with an eager smile. Forcefully pushing down any doubts she had of their ability to see this insane plan through into the deepest depths of her mind. Shrugging nonchalantly-

“Oh! Why the hell not!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens once again! :D
> 
> I'm really glad I'm making good progress with this arc! This should mark the halfway through what I have planned out.
> 
> Hopefully the fluffy/dorky moments in this chapter balanced out the exposition. The burger thing was pretty much inspired by V's inability to eat burgers in Visions of V and, so I thought making Vergil suffer the same fate on much more embarrassing scale would be adorable for that hot mess!
> 
> Next chapter should be pretty fluffy as well so do look forward to that! 
> 
> Anyway thank you so much for reading! Support is always appreciated! <3
> 
> Tumblr: https://louadorable126.tumblr.com


	6. Chapter 6 - Redgrave Market

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back~
> 
> Sorry for the long delay in updating! Writers block got the better of me half way through writing this chapter. So I had to take a break for a bit in order to get my head straight again.
> 
> Anyway it is now finished! So please enjoy! :D

_“Hang on. You want me to do_ **_what_** _?!”_ A familiar deep voice, on the other end of the phone, exclaimed. 

“I need you to find us a way into that event, Morrison!” Lady repeated herself; words laced with growing frustration. Her hand tightening its hold around the bright yellow ceiling handle hanging above her. “Yes, I know you don’t deal with the Cult of Fortuna! But this is really kinda urgent!” 

The heat of the compartment was really starting to get to her. Sweat beads welling up on her forehead and covering it in a wet, salty glaze. It was hard to tell if this was because of the stress of negotiating with Morrison, or the 60 or so people rammed into the same monorail cart around her - pressed up against one another like sheep in an inclosed pen. It felt as though she was being cooked in a gruelling dry oven. The air conditioning unit stationed above her, trying its best as it worked overtime to pump small blasts of cool air in the mercenary’s direction, to little avail except for a brief millisecond of chilly relief she gained from it.

Her compatriots, likewise, also seemed to be uncomfortable in their current situation. 

Apparently, Dante’s already non-existent attention span had been quickly eroded away in the 15 or so minutes he had been forced to stand here. Well…not really stand. As he had leaned back against one of the glass archways, in-between the main seating area and the exit door, arms crossed. Obviously rather bored, if the occasional upset, deep sighs she heard coming from his direction, were anything to go by. Alongside the sweet sound of him humming some kind of rock song, unbeknownst to anyone but himself, and tapping his foot on the floor to its invisible beat. His eyes closed, although occasionally peaking one sapphire eye open to see if their final destination was coming up on the floating holographic sign above them. Only to always be sorely disappointed, then returning to his sweet humming. 

Vergil, meanwhile, was sitting on a small plastic bench in between the pair of them. It seemed he had declared some sort of silent, and bloody war against a screaming and whining young child across from them; the child’s ignorant mother taking no action to stop them. His sharp eyes fixed intently on the small, high-pitched creature. Glaring at them angrily, as though the demon thought that by some miracle, it would get the child to shut up. That...obviously wasn’t working however, and the little boy continued to screech regardless. 

Lady took the opportunity to slip a glance over her shoulder at the elder twin, while her conversation between her and her employer lulled for a moment. Morrison deep in thought as he lit up another cigar. 

It was crystal clear from how tense and rigid the blue demon’s body language was becoming - his sharp pale jawline, peaking from beneath the veil of shadows covering his aristocratic features, hardening - that Vergil was soon going to blow. Massively. Which given the elder twin's track record for bloody slaughter, could only really lead to a disaster on a packed train like this. All Lady could do was hold her breath, and hope they could get off this nightmarish train before that happened. 

_ “Alright. Cause’ its you little missy, I’ll see what I can do.” _ Morrison relented. A touch of fatherly gruffness to his voice.  _ "Not making any promises though. Fuck. I don’t even wanna to think about whose strings I’m gonna have to tug to pull this off!” _

“I certainly appreciate it, Morrison. Cheers.” Lady thanked, before ending the call. Sliding her phone into her skirt pocket. 

“So is he going to do it?” Dante asked. Smiling hopefully at her.

“Sounds like it.” Lady confirmed with a nod. Switching her cramping arm, holding onto the ceiling handle, over to the other. “I’m sure he’ll pull through with something.”

More accurately, they  **_needed_ ** him to pull through with something. 

Despite being the one to send them off on this perilous quest in the first place. Augustus had been kind enough to provide them as much information as he could gather about this “Charity Ball”. Sending through several of the emails he had received from the cult’s network, after the group had handed back his laptop. 

And it was just as well he had! Because, as it turned out, the Charity Ball drastically moved location every time it was held. From fancy restaurants on the middle floor to a gentrified warehouse in the slums. However, this time it seemed the location of choice was a small expo centre. Ironically, it was surprisingly close to the hotel where she had first encountered Vergil. 

But, even if they at least knew this secret meeting's location, it still didn’t mean they had any way to actually enter the Ball. It was an invite only event. Unless Lady wanted to bankrupt herself a few hundred times over, she sure as hell was not buying her way inside! It wasn’t even like the twins could do much to help either, even with their father’s limitless wealth. As Vergil had pointed out, it would be obvious they came from a demonic household, given that they weren’t already a part of the pre-established wealthy society of humans. And thus, given the Cult of Fortuna’s fears about being found out by the demonic authorities, they’d be swiftly rejected regardless. 

“MUUUUUUUUUUM I WANNA GET OFF! THIS SO BORING!” The bratty child screamed at the top of his lungs. Before pointing a chubby finger over in the group's direction. “SERIOUSLY THIS PLACE SMELLS FUNNY!! ESPECIALLY THAT CREEPY GUY WHO KEEPS STARING AT ME-“

The child didn’t have a chance to finish. Pinned against the opposite train wall by the sharp tip of Yamato’s silver blade, held dubiously resting above the boy's heart, in less than the blink of an eye. The boy fell, choked on his words. Only letting out a small whimper in terror as he looked up at the towering man before him. The whole crowd erupted into a mania of panicked screaming and backing away from the scene. Leaving a circle of free space around them. 

_ Crap, this isn’t good! _ Lady thought to herself. Silently cursing the child for antagonising Vergil when they had seemed so close to being able to get off without a hitch.  _ The next station’s only a minute away, dammit! _

“What on earth are you doing!” The child’s mother cried hysterically. Reaching out to push him off her son, before being stopped dead in her tracks by Vergil’s cutting glare.

“Teaching your child the consequences of his actions.” Vergil informed her sharply. A look of genuine confusion shot onto the woman’s features at his declaration. As though she had no idea what he was talking about."You really are a terrible mother, aren’t you? Don’t you realise there are other people on this train who do not wish to hear your child's screeching? You are not only neglectful to your son, but also to common decency.”

The mother grew enraged at his accusation. Clenching one hand tightly around the handle of her crimson handbag, as her heart-shaped face twisted and disfigured in offence. “B-but I don’t control what my son does! He’s his own person-“

“Yes. But as his guardian you have an obligation to do something, woman!” Vergil snapped angrily. 

“Yeah, as much as my bro might be overreacting. He’s kinda got a point lady.” Dante chimed in. Causally moving to stand over beside Vergil so that they were back to back; Dante leaning a portion of his body weight against his brother. 

Subtly, he elbowed his twin’s lower back. Getting Vergil’s attention off the child and towards him. The blue demon tilted his head over his shoulder in Dante’s direction, before leaning in close and whispering into his ear. “Think the kid’s got the idea, Verge. Wanna let him go?”

At his brother’s words, Vergil withdrew his blade. Returning Yamato back to its holster under his coat with a satisfying click. He turned away with a flourish of his blue coat, leaving the now silent child in his tracks. As he headed for the train doors, the packed crowd standing in his path shifted aside for him, like he was parting the Red Sea, just as a masculine, artificial voice stated;  _ “We will shortly be arriving at Redgrave Market Station. Please stand clear of the doors for those exiting.”  _

“That’s our stop! You coming babe?” Dante called out over his shoulder, walking straight past Lady after his brother, as the train’s heavy doors slid open and bright artificial street light flooded through into the dim cabin. Illuminating their escape. 

“Yep!” Lady exclaimed, embarrassingly high-pitched. Finding it hard to keep her cool with all these people, likely hundreds, staring at her. After quickly sparing a glance to check if the young boy was ok - which seemed to be the case, as his mother cradled the now crying child close to her chest, ironically finally paying him the scrap of obviously needed attention - the mercenary fled the train just as its metal doors slammed shut behind her. 

* * *

Redgrave Market was certainly a strange location compared to many others. Remaining mainly untouched by the technological wonders of the city around it, aside from the occasional holographic or neon sign, the area was surprisingly old fashioned in its gothic appearance. Most likely an ancient remnant of the original city pre-demonic influence.

Given its unique aesthetic and location on the middle floor. It was no wonder that it had become a bustling hub for upper and middle class shops. Each one neatly spaced out from the other along a series of winding roads, that seemed almost alien compared to the rest of the city’s rigid grid structure. 

Yet, there was a certain charm to it, Vergil found. One that reminded him of his homestead manor and all its elegant, natural imperfections he had grown to love. Compared to the soulless, hulking towers of smooth glass and steel that were commonplace down here. Perhaps it was no wonder then that he had been drawn to this location, when he had been looking for places to-

“Seriously bro. I don’t get why you wanted us to come all this way to buy some fancy clothes!” Dante asked nonchalantly. Arms crossed behind his head, as the pair walked down the street at a steady pace. "Did Lady bribe you or something?”

“I’m afraid not, little brother.” Vergil responded lightheartedly. A small smirk of amusement playing on his lips at Dante’s conspiracy. While he would have enjoyed the feeling of having someone grovelling at his feet for his aid. He highly doubted that Lady’s sudden absence was planned in the slightest. 

Lady had run off soon after they had reached the main shopping area; with only the simple words of  _ ‘Wait for me until I come back!’ _ being the only clue as to what she was planning on doing. They had been aimlessly wandering around the area for over 20 minutes now…waiting. It was only this idle chatter between him and Dante that was stopping him from getting bored. Although he’d never dare admit that aloud. Dante would have a field day with such information…

“- But without the right outfits we are far too likely to get noticed the moment we step foot in that place, Dante. The wealthy always have a keen eye for quality-

“Yeah yeah, I understand that!” Dante sighed. Waving his hand to cut his brother off. "But wouldn’t it be easier for us to just pop home, and grab some of those clothes dad got us a while back? I’m sure it would make Eva happy-“

“NO!” Vergil snapped almost instinctively. A sharp primal fear shot through his body before he had a chance to truly process the situation. Adrenaline instinctively started to pump through his system, until the sharp sting of reason suffocated it again. Vergil turned away from his brother, cheeks reddening in shame. “We….we are not doing that."

This was...inappropriate, despite his strong feelings about the matter. He needed to calm himself. How he was reacting wasn’t rational in the slightest! 

As much as he hated to admit it, Dante was right. They did have a perfectly decent set clothes sitting at home, just waiting to be used once again. Bought for a ceremony their father had  _ “Encouraged” _ them to attend. 

Yet, Vergil had his reservations about even  **_touching_ ** such clothing. He….wasn’t in the best place at the time when he last wore it. Faintly recalling a lot of shouting having taken place between him and his father, moments before his father’s departure from that room. The last time he had seen him face to face- 

There were just too many painful memories wrapped up in its velvety fabric. Too many complicated feelings towards Sparda that Vergil didn’t have the energy to process. Sure, he had forgiven since that time. Only now wishing for his father to come home and fix the mess he had created. The mess he had left for him and Dante to clean up. But that wasn’t dealing with the elephant in the room, was it? 

Eva. 

Vergil still felt deeply uncomfortable at the idea of confronting her once again. How could he in good faith, when for years he had been treating her as simply a dispensable nanny? What he must have put her through with him seeing her like that! He still hadn’t fully processed that she was his mother yet. How could he? With as little time as he’d had to think through things recently. He wasn’t even sure how he’d act around her once they were reunited. Did he just pretend like nothing had changed? Put distance between them until such a time he felt less vulnerable to her heart-wrenching, gentle smiles?

Blast! He was never good with these damned emotions! That was always Dante’s job! Not his! 

Deep down, he knew that was the reason why he hadn’t particularly minded Augustus’ tedious offer. It was an escape. An excuse to delay the enviable. He was just hiding from his problems under the guise of a cold blooded assassin, when he was really just a shameful coward. 

A firm hand came to rest on his shoulder. Catching Vergil off guard, he flinched with surprise from the sudden contact. 

“You can’t keep avoiding her forever, you know?” Dante said softly, from behind. Feeling the pressure of his brother's forehead come rest on the back of his nape. “This has been hard on me too, Vergil. Don’t think it's just you.”

His words touched him in a way Vergil couldn’t describe. Perhaps it was a small comfort to know this was a shared suffering between the both of them. That the burden wasn’t resting on his shoulders alone. But, try as he might, Vergil couldn’t find it within himself to open up to his brother. He couldn’t show any weakness here. Not somewhere so open and public. 

“It doesn’t matter.” He stated quietly. Slipping from Dante’s grasp and continuing on down the road. “Your friend would have needed something to wear regardless."

The expected sound of his brother’s footsteps immediately following after him did not come. 

Vergil began to feel concerned. Worried for Dante. But he just couldn’t bring himself to turn around and check on him as he walked away. He was committed now, and turning around would just break the illusion he was the one in charge of this situation. That he was in control. 

Then it came. A wide arm swung around his shoulders from seemingly out of nowhere. Its power almost sent him crashing to the ground, if he had not managed to maintain his foothold. Honestly, part of him wished he had taken the blow to his pride and fallen. As a snake-like arm, curled around his neck, teetered on the edge of asphyxiating him. 

“Oh? So all this is for Lady then~” Dante teased playfully. Sounding much more like his normal obnoxious self again - if not a tad forced. “Thought you’d buy her off of me with a fancy dress? That’s a low blow, Verge! And here I thought you were the honourable one-"

“DANTE GET OFF OF ME!” Vergil yelled angrily. His cheeks practically on fire, as he viciously attempted to rip his brother’s arm off of him to little avail. 

“No. I don’t think I will!” Dante stated childishly. Doubling down his hold on his brother, by digging his nails into his shoulder. The blue demon could practically hear the pout in his words.“Trying to steal my girlfriend off me like that-“

“I wasn’t planning anything of the sort you damned fool!” Vergil defended himself. He hated it when Dante pushed his buttons like this. Such playful accusations shouldn’t be of any concern to him. They were unfounded lies of an annoying little brother. Yet here he was, defending his honour over a woman. How the mighty fallen...

“Suuuure you weren’t~” Dante sang disbelievingly into his ear. His hot breath tickling against Vergil’s jaw. “But if I’ve gotta compete with that. I guess I’ll just have to impress her with my musical skills!” 

“What?"

Dante released him then. His arm retracting from around his shoulders before Vergil had a chance to process what was happening, as Dante ran in front of him and made a bee-line over to a shop just ahead of them. The contents of its window blocked from Vergil’s sight, by the bright red neon light reflecting, from a nearby sign. Only leaving his imagination to come up with what lay inside.

Of course, Vergil hastily followed after his little brother, practically on his heels as he pursued him up the street. When they finally reached the shop, it very quickly became obvious what had piqued Dante’s interest about this place, from the moment Vergil laid eyes on the exquisite, antique guitar proudly displayed front and centre in its window. 

It was an instrument shop. 

It had been a few hundred years now since homegrown music had fallen out of fashion. The masses’ tastes had changed to the manufactured tunes of big business and their idol groups, rather than that of any one artist. Practically making a solo career impossible for anyone starting out, unless they had a vast some of funds behind them. And so, being able to play an instrument, let alone owning one, was now seen to be a luxury item. 

Yet Dante, as always, was unable to show even the slightest once restraint for something so valuable. As casually he walked through the shop’s doors and picked up the guitar from its resting place in the window. Just as Vergil entered the building, he heard a familiar chord, a rock song. He could have recognised that tune from anywhere, after all he had the misfortune of being subjected to it, time and again, by the loudspeakers in Dante’s bedroom. He looked over to his side, finding his brother leaning back against the windowsill with a wild, child-like grin on his boyish face as he played. 

“Dante, put that back right now!” Vergil ordered.

Dante simply chuckled at his command. “What? Not enjoying the show?”

“Do you realise how much trouble you are going to get us in? We are trying to keep a low profile. Remember?” Vergil snapped sternly. Sparing a paranoid glance around the small shop for any sign of its owner. He really couldn’t do with them getting arrested right now for stealing someone’s property. There was too much at stake already. 

His twin raised his shoulders in a half-shrug, still strumming away. “What’s the problem? I’m just testing this beauty out-” 

“You didn’t get permission!"

“That’s Elena Huston’s  _ Mermaid Rocks _ , isn’t it?” A man commented out of seemingly nowhere. His voice was deep and husky, filled to the brim with the wisdom of age. 

"Yeah! Are you a fan of hers?” Dante asked. 

“Pretty fond of it, yeah! Been a long ol' while since I heard it played live by someone though.” Vergil turned around to find an elderly man - if the deep wrinkles that lay under his eyes and pure white rocker beard was anything to go by - leaning against a doorway, across the room from them. “Girl would probably be thrilled to know people were still playing her music a few hundred years down the line.”

The man walked across the room and over to Dante. Sparing only a passing glance of acknowledgement Vergil’s way as he strolled by. When he came to a stop, he smiled fondly at the mahogany instrument in the young man’s hands. “She’s a marvellous piece of work, ain’t she? Got her a while back from a junk seller in the slums. Guy thought she was no better than a piece of kindling. Heh. Might as well have been! Took a long ol' time to restore her to her former glory. Can’t argue with the results though.”

The shop owner walked over to a nearby shelf and picked a rather garish turquoise guitar from its stand. He tapped a small button hidden away on its side, causing a loud, static pop to belch out from the speakers around the place. A series of green lights flashed to life along the long neck of the instrument, as the man came to rest on the windowsill beside the young man. 

“Say, do you know this song kid?" The elderly man asked, as he started to strum away on his own instrument masterfully. Electric synth began rapidly pouring out of the shop's speakers. 

“No. But maybe…” Dante raised a hand to his ear. Listening to the sound of the melody closely for a few moments, before he began to tap his foot along to its beat. Growing more confidant, he started to strum on his own instrument again. Effortlessly improvising a tune that sounds surprisingly decent in accompaniment with the other man’s.

“Yeah! That’s it!” The man cheered excitedly. Increasing the complexity of his tune, as he began to strum away faster. “Let’s see if you can handle this!”

“You're an old man!” Dante chuckled confidently. Taking the man up on his challenge, and swiftly adapting to his sudden changes on the fly.

However, it seemed both men had completely forgotten about their only audience member in attendance, as Vergil turned away and began to head for the door. Leaving the two of them to it.

He was certainly relieved he didn't have to worry about getting in trouble after all, judging by the man's reaction..from the sounds of it, had joined Dante in a sort of jam session now. He had never particularly enjoyed the brutish symphonies his brother listened to. And while he was proud Dante was up holding their family honour in this impromptu duel. All these loud and violent sounds, created by their analogue and electric guitars clashing with one another, were starting to severely grate his ears with the aggressive "music" they played. A breath of fresh air felt sorely needed, and the sooner he could be separated from this noise by a - hopefully soundproof - door, the better.

To his great displeasure, the door barely blocked any of the noise those two were making inside the shop, prompting him to take a few steps down the street until the chatter of the people drowned it out after all. After that escapade, it was almost relaxing to watch the crowds for a bit. He let his eyes follow a small family moving from one shop to another. One of the kids was carrying a terribly oversized teddy bear it was clearly too small for, yet stubbornly refusing to let go in an amusing resemblance to Vergil's own brother.

Yet, as they passed by one shop in particular. The sight of a familiar mop of dark brown hair in its large window, instantly snapped up Vergil’s attention away from the child.

"What is she doing?" Vergil wondered to himself aloud. Watching her tap away on the screen of a rather fancy-looking vending machine. Picking different…colour options? 

It certainly intrigued him. Enough so, that he couldn’t help but find his feet carrying him over to shop. Only coming to the realisation he was standing in front of the shop’s window when he found his own handsome reflection faintly staring back at him, in contrast to the close up image of Lady before him - dainty hand hanging over one of the touch screens options, as though in a moment of indecisiveness. 

She shook her head, stubbornly casting aside whatever doubt she must have had, as she pressed down a confidant finger down on the button. Before swiftly paying for whatever she had selected with the tap of her phone against the screen. A steel canister of some sort came rolling out of the bottom of the machine.

It was then Vergil finally realised what Lady was buying. Seeing the sign that had been obscured by her body moments before, be revealed to him as she bent down to pick the canister up.

She was buying hair dye. 

On a rational level, Vergil knew he shouldn’t be that surprised by this discovery. Hair dye was a common thing that many bought. And having seen how Lady would apply large amounts of cosmetics to her face every morning to cover that rather unpleasant scar across her nose (He had suspected there was more to such a strange blemish. But had hesitated to pursue the topic any further, when he saw how uncharacteristically protective Dante became when he caught him staring at her exposed face.) It wasn’t a huge leap in logic to assume she also indulged herself in dyeing her hair as well. What, with how the rich walnut colour Vergil could see displayed on the canister in her hand, was practically identical to her own. 

Yet, there was something immensely thrilling, Vergil found, in discovering this little secret of her’s. As though he had just unpacked some greater conspiracy that she kept from them. A small, enigmatic smile smile snuck onto his lips. _I wonder what her true hair colour is…_

Unfortunately his spying did not go unnoticed for much longer. As the mercenary turned away from the vending machine, only to jump back with surprise into it, when she saw Vergil ogling at her from the other side of the window. 

“Jesus Christ Vergil!” Lady yelped in shock; her voice muffled by the glass in between them. Not so successfully attempting to hide the canister she held behind her back. “Some warning, or at least a ‘hello' would have been nice!"

“Hello Lady.” He greeted in a blank, monotone voice. Watching with amusement as her soft face turned bright red with rage, and let out a feminine growl. He was starting to understand now, why his brother found such enjoyment in tormenting her….

The mercenary stormed across the shop floor and out the glass door. Sending it flying wide open, before marching over to Vergil. Not even trying anymore to hide the canister she held tightly in her hand. 

“Look, I know you and Dante haven’t exactly grown up in the most _normal_ of environments. But seriously, don’t stand and stare at people like that! It's beyond creepy, ok?” Lady exclaimed passionately. Looking up into his hood intently as she did so, before averting her gaze. Scanning the area around him for something, or rather _someone._ “Hang on... where is Dante?"

Ignoring her question about his brother’s whereabouts. “Of all people, I never would have suspected you used hair dye." Vergil remarked bluntly, as he eyed the spray can.

“Oh! This?” Lady hesitantly brought the canister up to chest height. An unnaturally stiff, uneasy smile on her face, as Vergil’s narrow eyes honed in on the gleaming canister with suspicion. "It’s not for me, I’m afraid. It’s…um, for a friend of mine?” She stated nervously. Stumbling over her words as she continued: “I told them I was coming to Redgrave Market this morning, and so they asked if I could get them some. I couldn’t exactly turn them down now, could I? So I- uh-“

“And why would this _‘friend's request’_ be of a higher priority right now than the mission at hand?” Vergil asked sternly. Taking a step closer to her. Causing the already jittery Lady to stumble backwards from his towering form in fear. “This little escapade of your’s has already wasted far too much precious time we do not have. The Charity ball is only a day away. And I would have thought you, as a mercenary of all people, should understand that we must act with as much efficiency in our preparations over these next few hours, to insure-"

“IT'S FOR YOU, OK?!” Lady shouted angrily.

Vergil froze. “What?” 

“It's for you, Vergil.” Lady said softly; coming down from her sudden outburst. “You and Dante.”

Well, he certainly hadn’t been expecting  _ that _ revolution. 

Without even really thinking, Vergil reached up to touch his hairline. Letting his fingertips knead through the soft hair he had so carefully hidden beneath his hood.

He was always protective of it. Not through any vain impulse to conform to any preexisting beauty standard. No, that was laughably below him. He was by all means aware he was good looking. A byproduct of genetic engineering over hundreds of years striving for perfection of the human (how ironic) form. But, it was more of a cruel curse than any sort of blessing, having to share such a face with Dante of all people. 

He hated it….being identical. Having your reflection walk around as another person. Devoid of your personality. Another person entirely who just happens to be physically similar to you in every possible way. And then…to get mistaken as them. Vergil could think back to many times in his childhood where Dante had pinned one of his many crimes on him. Leaving him to take the brunt of the punishment until someone realised the mistake in identity. That wasn’t even the worst of it. What, having to live in the shadow of yourself. Only more charming and more loveable than you could ever be.

For a long time he had to grapple with this. Had to find ways to differentiate himself as much as possible from Dante. It began with acting colder and more aloof. Always being seen with a book (which wasn’t exactly hard for him, there was always more to read). Dressing in blue-

But soon he realised that wasn’t enough. And so, he had turned to the last thing he had control over skin deep. His hair. 

It was his holy ground. An element of himself that only he could touch. He could change. Something which, slicked back to his preferred style, separated him physically from his little brother. An innate part of his being. 

But, to have an outside force impede on that. Well… it might as well have been an act of war. 

He reached out and snatched the canister from Lady’s hand. “And why exactly would we need this? I see no reason for us to forsake our natural hair colour-"

“Yeah, but that’s the issue Vergil! It's a black-tie event. And unless you can find a suit with a built in hood or something. Your hair is gonna be a dead giveaway if we don’t dye at least a vaguely normal colour!” Lady pointed out. Before suddenly looking down and away, with a strange red dusting over her cheeks. “Plus brown hair would look really good on you…”

To give the woman credit, she’d obviously thought this through far more than he had. Not even looking over the smallest of details he had completely neglected to take into consideration. In fact, he respected her for standing her ground against him, because she made a very valid and reasonable point. 

Yet, there was a nagging discomfort - born from foolish emotion rather than anything rational - that prevented Vergil from fully agreeing to what she was suggesting. 

By dyeing his hair this…. _ walnut colour, _ he would be casting aside the defining feature of his race in favour of becoming…more human.

He wasn’t really sure he could handle that right now, if he had to be honest with himself. For days now, he had been plagued by the doubts his newfound heritage had brought. That half of him was perfectly normal, and the other…well, entirely alien. To take such a plunge into such a new, raw side of himself, was something the demon was completely unprepared to do at this time. Not with this many conflicting emotions swirling around within him.

“I won’t do it.” He declared proudly. Handing the silver canister back to Lady. “My hair’s colour is my birthright. I won’t forsake it for something as insignificant as this. We’ll just have to find another way.”

“Yeah, good luck with that.” Lady sighed in defeat. Clutching the spray can close to her chest, as she shook her head. "I knew you were going to be difficult about this...” 

“What do you mean?” He inquired. 

“Well, I thought if you were anything as stubborn as Dante is, you’d refuse almost immediately. So I was going to keep this a secret until the last minute. But that’s obviously not going to happen now is it?” Lady explained, lifting her shoulders in a small shrug. “Look, the dye isn’t permanent by any stretch of the imagination, and will probably only last about one day tops if you change your mind.”

“I’ll...think about it.” Vergil said hesitantly. If such a change wasn’t permanent for longer than a few measly hours. Perhaps...he could stomach it. Leaving the offer open at least still gave them options  **_if_ ** they couldn’t find a work around by tomorrow evening.  _ Nothing more than a last restore, hopefully.  _

“Oh? That’s a change!” Lady commented slyly. Earning her a dismissive grunt from the blue demon. “Alright, I won’t question it too much! But you’ve got till tomorrow to make up your mind Vergil. Would be a shame if this went to waste though. Who knew hair dye could be so expensive?”

“Who knew.” Vergil responded unenthusiastically. Turning away from her, and looking back over at the instrument shop, down the street. The building’s wooden door violently vibrating, as the dull sounds of rock music booming from the shop echoed faintly down the street.

“You still haven’t answered my question about Dante by the way.” Lady remained with him. The smaller woman suddenly appeared at his side. Looking out in the same direction as him. “Don’t tell me you’ve killed him or something?”

“We can only hope.” Vergil sighed deeply. It was a shame she brought up such a solution until now. It probably would have saved him a lot of hassle if he had. 

Speaking of which… 

“Hey! Where the hell are you going?” Lady yelled, as he suddenly began to take off down the busy street. 

“Come.” He called back over his shoulder. Watching with amusement, out of the corner of his eye, as she hurriedly legged it to catch up with him. Managing to keep a steady pace by his side until they reached the instrument shop. 

As they got closer, the music blaring out from inside the shop got louder and louder. It had reached such an impressive level of noise that a semi-circle of empty space had formed around the store, as shoppers kept their distance so as to not go deaf. Lady had to almost yell at Vergil to even hear her own words: "What are we doing here?!" The blue demon, stoic as always, merely nodded towards the window, drawing her attention to his brother playing the guitar inside - entirely lost in the world of music, as he flamboyantly danced away on top of the shop’s counter.

“Hang on! Dante plays the guitar!?” She exclaimed with surprise. Pressing her pale hands against the cool glass, as she looked in on the scene. Her colourful, mis-matched eyes wide with awe at the skilful way his hands danced across the guitar’s strings.

“He has done since we were very little! Our father was always very keen to have the both of us play an instrument!” Vergil called out over the racket. Trying his best to keep up a cool facade, despite the increasing pain he began to feel well deep within his ears. He slipped his hand underneath the cloth of his blue coat, and gripped Yamato’s hilt tightly. Letting all small groves of the handle dig into the palm of his hand to give himself a distraction. But it was quickly becoming a losing battle. And soon he could hardly stand it a moment longer.

“Wait! Both of you?” Lady asked loudly. Pulling back from the window, and turning her head towards him curiously. "So what do you play then? Let me guess! It's something classy like the Piano, right? Maybe a Clarinet? Recorder-“

“Violin.” Vergil remarked off-handedly. Moving to the shop’s door, and throwing it open with a bang.

The music sharply came to a halt at his sudden intrusion. The two men awkwardly frozen in place like deer caught in headlights - Dante in particular stuck mid moonwalk shuffle across the counter, back foot half raised - as they slowly turned their heads in the blue demon's direction. 

Vergil was starting to understand now how Eva felt whenever she caught them in the midst of some mischievous act. It was immensely pleasurable, in a peculiar way. Having all the focus be on him, whilst still being in complete control of the situation. Perhaps, if he ever had a child of his own-

“Way to ruin the mood like that, bro! We were just about to hit the climax!” Dante’s boyish voice, whined. Snapping Vergil out of his power trip, as he watched his brother grumpily clambered down from the countertop and jumped to the floor. “You always take the fun out of everything, you know?”

“My apologies, little brother. I didn’t mean to take away from your  _ precious _ playtime.” Vergil said, his sarcasm biting. He began to leave through the doorway. “Your friend has returned. We best get going.”

‘Hey, now wait a minute! Can’t I at least buy this?” Dante asked. Vergil stopped and looked back over his shoulder. Finding his little brother cradling the guitar close to his chest.

“You already have one at home.” Four to be exact. Their father had a rather amusing habit of forgetting what he had got them on their previous birthday.

“But I’ve bonded with her! She’s gonna be all sad if I abandon her here now!” Dante pouted childishly. Looking down at the instrument in his hands and stroking its well-crafted neck lovingly with his finger tips.

“It's a guitar, Dante. Not a stray cat you just found on the street.”

“Yeah, well-“

“We don’t have time for this!” Vergil growled in frustration. Turning back around and marching across the shop-floor to his cloaked twin. "We’re leaving,  **_now._ ** "

He attempted to pry the instrument out of his brother’s hands. Only, it wouldn’t move an inch. “Dante. Let go of this.”

“Like hell I’m doing that!” Dante retorted. Clutching the guitar with a vice-like grip as he pulled back from his brother’s prying force. His boyish face scrunching up with strain from the struggle. “Not…unless...we buy it!"

“Stop acting like a child!” Vergil scolded angrily; mustering up another fierce pull in his direction. Causing Dante to stumble forwards slightly as he struggle to hold on. It was in that moment that Vergil could have sworn he heard a sharp cracking sound come from strained instrument. As small particles of (Dust? No, Sawdust?) caught his eye, fluttering down to the mock-wood laminate floor beneath them. “We’re going to break it if you keep up this insolence!”

“Better she be broken than forever alone!” Dante yelled hysterically; heaving the fragile guitar back in his direction. An ominous red glow started to form around him. 

“Alright, you two! Stop it!” Lady’s voice command out of nowhere. But, before Vergil had a chance to figure out where she was. He felt a small hand forcefully shove his shoulder backwards. Completely sending his sense of balance out of control. His feet slipped out from under him, leaving him merciless as he fell backwards. Smacking into the hard floor beneath him-

It was all a rather big shock to his system, frankly. Happening in far too quick of a time to process what had actually occurred. Any attempt he made at opening his eyes was only met by a blurry, dizzying mess of colours. The only thing he could really surmise was that the back of his head hurt. Really hurt. Excruciatingly so. Vergil could faintly feel the trickle of some sort of viscous liquid pouring out the back of his skull - warm and sticky, as it soaked his hair and flowed down the back of his neck.  _ Blood.  _

He threw a hand to the back of his head, and pressed down against the searing wound in an attempt to stem the flow. This wasn’t out of any real need for self-preservation however. No. This wound would heal. Likely within the next 30 seconds if Vergil had to estimate, from what he could feel of the wound being sewn shut beneath his fingertips. But, it was more of a nuisance having blood stain the inside hood of his coat than anything else. So the least that got over it, the better. 

To his great relief, however, it seemed like most of the blood stuck to his fingers after all, hopefully eliminating any concerned looks he might have gotten out in the street if it hadn't. Feeling the wound now fully closed again - his new flesh impossibly soft to the touch, like that of a newborn baby’s - he dropped his arm down next to himself with a relieved sigh and opened his eyes again.

“Phew! That was a close call.” Lady murmured to herself. Brushing away sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. Proudly hold the guitar safe and sound in the other. 

Through the mercenary's legs he could see his Dante, likewise sprawled out across the floor, unceremoniously rubbing his buttocks in pain.  _ Of course he would get off without a scrape…. Curse you, brother.  _

The demon’s sharp eyes were then suddenly drawn back to the young woman above him, she began to walk across the room to the old man. He watched as she gracefully presented the antique guitar to the shopkeeper with an apologetic bow of the head. “I’m so sorry about that. They're a handful at the best of times. Hopefully it isn’t too badly damaged!”

“Hey, don’t worry about it sweetheart! She’s been in worse shape than this." The elderly man reassured her. Patting her lightly on the shoulder, before taking back the guitar. He gave it a quick strum, and spun the instrument around to examine the state of its body. Thankfully, it seemed they were in the clear when the man gave a satisfied nod of approval. Turning around to carefully place the instrument back on the window display.

Vergil heaved a sigh of relief at that. Standing back up, the blue demon barely got a second of leeway, before a firm at his back all but moved to shove him out of the door, and judging by the whining behind him, also dragged Dante out at the same time.

“Oh, you two are going to pay for this.” Vergil heard her mutter ominously. He could only dread what she had in store for them.

* * *

“Man, this is so weird…” Dante muttered. Looking down at himself as a multitude of robotic arms poked and prodded him at his bare chest. 

His midriff and lower body had already been forceable sewn into what looked to be the bottom half of a tight fitting, red suit. Miraculously being assembled around him by this weird-ass machine. He couldn’t help but feel like he had somehow stumbled into the inner workings of a factory production line though. What, with all these needles and shit barely missing piercing his skin as it sewed the material, forcibly held down and draped sections over different parts of his body.

Even as his usual hyperactive self, Dante didn’t dare move an inch throughout the whole process. Staying frozen still like a marble statue. His now aching arms held up high by his sides. He tried to keep his mind off thinking about how even the slightest of movement would end up with him being impaled by 15 different needles of this hellish machine. Of course, not that it would be too much of an issue for him if that  _ did _ happen. Hell, if humans were using this thing daily, there was probably plenty of safety stuff in place! But that rather rational fear was still there for him, thank you very much! Demon or not. 

“Hey! How much longer is this thing gonna take?” Dante called out to his companions. Both of whom sitting on a rather plush white sofa nearby just outside of the booth. 

Lady glanced up from a gossip magazine she was reading. Squinting her mis-matched eyes, as she looked over at a panel on the wall beside him. “Uhhhh…it says it's about 80% complete. So maybe another minute?”

“Great! My arms are killing me!” Dante sighed with relief. Feeling fabric being trapped over his shoulders as he said so. 

“This just seems counter intuitive. Why couldn’t they just get a machine to take up some measurements and then get a group of humans to assemble the blasted thing? Surely it would make for a better experience for the customer.” Vergil commented. Watching what was happening to his brother intently. 

Although Vergil was maintaining a professional, almost scholarly aura around himself as he spoke. Dante could see through the guy from a mile away. 

He was nervous. Really nervous. 

It didn’t take a genius to see it. The major clue being when his supposedly ‘stoic' older brother had jolted back in surprise when those needles first came out of nowhere. He had been self-consciously rubbing whichever part of him that was currently being stitched around on his younger twin’s body. And given that he hadn’t had anything else to do, other than stare at his twin for the past 5 minutes. Studying Vergil’s slow and steady descent into panic was totally worth the boredom of having to stand here.

“I would assume it's a mix of it being quicker just to build the outfit of someone’s choice around them, as well as not wanting to take on the added cost of more staff. You saw they only had one person at the reception on the way in here.” Lady said. Putting her magazine down entirely as she looked over at Vergil. 

“For something as pricey as this. I wouldn’t have thought cost would have been of any concern to them.” Vergil stated bitterly. Thoughtfully raising a hand up to rest against his sharp chin, as he aimlessly gazed down at the white marble floor in front of him. “It seems even your most renowned establishments down here care little for their clientele….”

“That’s probably just your preference, Vergil.” Lady pointed out. Taking a quick glance over at the panel’s counter, to find it having climbed to  **'** **_98% complete'._ ** “You’d probably be surprised about how many people just want custom clothes fast and quick. Places like this wouldn’t thrive as much as they do if that weren’t the case.”

“I’m beginning to lose faith in your race.” Vergil huffed. Shaking his head in disapproval. Causing a few strands of renegade hair to cascade onto his forehead. 

Lady crossed her arms, disgruntled. “Too bad your stuck as half of us then-“

**_“OUTFIT COMPLETE. PLEASE EXIT THE BOOTH.”_ ** A female robotic voice interrupted the mercenary. 

The pair immediately broke away from their squabble at the sudden announcement. Glancing to find a fully dressed Dante standing before them. 

“Well I’ll be damned! This thing fits like a glove!” Dante exclaimed with amazement. Flexing his arms curiosity as the multitude robotic arms retracted around him. Finding his arms surprisingly free to move about despite the tight fitting ruby fabric wrapped around them.

Stepping out of the booth with a satisfying click of his boots. Dante decided to use this newfound wider space to his advantage. He started to punch the open air in front of him in rapid succession, as though he was hitting an invisible punching bag. Not once did the suit’s tight fit restrain him mid motion, nor did spectacularly burst at the seams from his intense actions. A wide, gleeful grin started to form on Dante’s face. He had to test the upper limit of this thing!

Several roundhouse kicks later. Dante could only conclude that this suit was perfectly tailored in every way to his build. Which honestly shouldn’t be unsurprising as a machine made it. But the demon couldn’t help but marvel at such a feat nevertheless.

“Done playing around yet, little brother?” Came Vergil’s nasally voice. Sounding throughly unimpressed by his theatrics. 

Dante spun around to face his seated twin. “Hey, I’ve gotta check how much this thing can handle! Would be a total bitch having to fight in something too tight now? Wouldn’t i-“ Dante abruptly cut himself off. Losing all interest in finishing what he was saying, as his charming blue eyes were met with that of another. A rather attractive young man in a red suit standing across the room from him. “Well Hello there handsome! Aren’t you just a sight for sore eyes~?"

Dante wandered over to his reflection. Standing up close and personal with it, as he gazed into the full length mirror. 

“Man, I’ve gotta say Lady. You have some seriously good taste.” He complimented. Posing in all sorts of ridiculous and dramatic ways like he was a model who stumbled into a photoshoot. Whistling with delight, whenever he thought he looked particularly good from one angle as he checked himself out.

"Um, Thank you? I mostly just chose the colours you like. Nothing more than that really.” Lady admitted bashfully. Dante could have sworn he saw hints of red creep onto her delicate cheeks at that. She must have known he was looking though, as the moment their colourful eyes made contact on the mirror’s surface, a look of embarrassment quickly shoot across her features. In a panic, she awkwardly coughed down into her hand. Swiftly shattered the brief connection that had been between them. A shame really. She was just too damn cute like that!

Dante watched her in the mirror’s reflection as Lady then hurriedly rise from the sofa behind and walk over to the panel. “Speaking of which. You’re up next Vergil!”

Vergil visibly seized up at her reminder, as though fear of what was coming next for him had finally just hit him. 

He quickly recovered however. Letting out a long, deep breath, before he mechanically rose from the sofa. Of course, Dante knew all too well his twin was just putting up a brave face. Under that emotionless facade Vergil must be shitting himself right now. He grinned devilishly. Oh, this was going to be so much fun to watch!

Vergil moved to join Lady. Standing behind her, and sneaking a glance over her shoulder at what she was picking from the variety of options on display, as he began to strip down. Letting his blue coat slip from his shoulders and fall to the floor, before undoing the small, stiff buttons at his ruffled collar. Losing it so his collar bone was exposed as he moved to pull the shirt over his head-

“Why are you choosing that?” Vergil asked, catching sight of Lady’s finger about to press down on a pine green coloured square. Stopping him dead in his tracks with his shirt half lifted up his bare, muscular torso.“That would look awful on me-“

“Ah ah ah!” Lady tuted. Turning around and wagging her finger in his face. "Remember Vergil, we came to an agreement didn’t we? I get to choose what you two get to wear as punishment for the mess you caused today. And look, Dante likes what I chose for him! So just have some faith in me, ok?”

“Dante spends half his life dressed as a degenerate stripper. Why should I trust his sense of taste?”

Dante glanced over his shoulder with an offended pout. “Wow! Real harsh, Verge!"

“No, no. He’s got a point.” Lady sighed. Slowly looking up at the young man before her. "I understand where you're coming from, Vergil. But I promise I won’t make you look bad. Trust me."

“It better be worth entering that death machine.” He said quietly; turning his head away. As though that ambiguous statement was less aimed at Lady and more an internal fear of his given voice. 

“I’ll take that as a yes then.” Lady concluded. A smile peaking up onto her lips as she gave Vergil a brief reassuring pat on the shoulder. Before returning back to finishing up selecting what she wanted from the panel. 

_ Traitor,  _ Dante moped grumpily. Hair sadly drooped down across his face.  _ And here I thought she was on my side…. _

Soon enough it seemed Lady was almost done, or at least it appeared so to Dante when she began to tap the screen a lot less than before. When all of a sudden her phone went off. Its ringtone blaring, as she hurriedly attempted to fish the manically vibrating device out of her skirt pocket. 

“Who is it?” Vergil asked, midway through unzipping his trousers. Looking over at the phone in her hand. 

“Morrison.” Lady started with a breathless glance at her phone’s screen. Throwing the device up to her ear. “Hey! You got any news on those tickets? What? Uhhhh....hang on give me a second.”

She rested her phone against her shoulder and rushed over to Dante. Pulling his sleeve to get his attention, before the young man turned around to face her. “Can you get Vergil into the machine for me? I need to deal with this."

"I’ll take any excuse to manhandle my big bro into something! You go take that call.” He assured her.

“Thanks.” Lady said, with a thankful nod. Raising the phone back up to her ear, as she walked over to the nearby doorway. Loitering in it as she descended into a deep, and somewhat intense discussion. 

_ That can’t be good.  _ Dante thought. If this were a clean and simple job, Morrison would have already just told her he’d got hold of those tickets and have ended the call by now. But he hadn’t. And that concerned the demon. 

Granted, he didn’t know all the facts just yet, and he was always a hopeful person. With that wonderful woman called Lady Luck often having a bias for him on many an occasion. But if they didn’t have those tickets, that would have just thrown a big ass  _ annoying _ wrench into their carefully concocted plan. And well…while finding another way in a day or so out wouldn’t be impossible. It would be an utter pain in the arse to do!

He didn’t want to listen anymore. The nervous tension slowly rising within him the longer he stood there - staring at Lady and patiently waiting for answers he knew deep down he wouldn’t get any time soon - was starting to wear him down. So, he turned away. Looking back over at his brother. Well, only to then have to bite down a teasing laugh on the verge of escaping his throat at the sight of him. 

How could he not? With how Vergil regally stood there with his back against the wall, lounging against it like there was something far more plush and soft in its place. His head partially tilted in the direction of the doorway. Listening into Lady’s all important conversation with a serious and considered expression on his princely face. 

Yet, all the while, it hadn’t exactly gone unnoticed by Dante the way his twin had self-consciously wrapped his arms tightly across his bare chest in an attempt to hide it. Hilariously trying and failing to hide the fact he was that he was completely, and utterly butt naked.

Ok, that was maybe an exaggeration. Vergil _was_ wearing a pair of black boxers shorts. But Dante just couldn’t take him seriously for one minute! The clash between his obvious insecurity towards his state of dress and the elegant facade he was attempting to portray was almost laughably sad. He couldn’t help but feel sorry for the poor guy. 

“Guess I better put you out of your misery, shouldn’t I?” Dante said jokingly. Causing Vergil to snap his head back in Dante’s direction angrily. 

“What are you talking about?” Vergil snapped defensively. His muscular arms tensing tighter around his pale chest.

"Didn’t you hear what Lady said? You’re up next!” Dante exclaimed with enthusiastic glee. Deciding on taking the merciful option of naively pretending as though he wasn’t aware of his brother’s discomfort. Fanning ignorance….or at least more so that what he usually did anyway.

Wandering across the room to meet his twin up close and personal. Dante couldn’t help but take the opportunity to teasingly poke Vergil square in the chest. Childishly letting out a small “boop!” as he did so. Like clockwork, a flush of bright red went shooting up the young man’s neck and across his whole face, as a deadly mix of ferocious anger and embarrassment seemed to consume Vergil whole. Hastily scrambling to cover the exposed area of skin that had been poked with his hands.

Dante continued to remain outwardly oblivious to his masterwork of brotherly torture, however. Only allowing the ghost of a victorious smile to grace his roguish lips as he watched, his now strawberry of a twin, very barely resisted the urge strangling him on the spot. "Come on, let's get you all dressed up!"

Dante moved to the wall panel beside Vergil. He was pleasantly surprised to find that there wasn’t actually much for him to do. As all that Lady had left to be done was hit the start button; confirming the outfit of choice (And a damn good one too if Dante had to say! He would have never thought to put Vergil in  _ that).  _ The machine whirled to life almost the instant he did so. The feminine robotic voice from early returning. Commanding across the room's speakers;  **_“CLIENT, PLEASE ENTER THE BOOTH.”_ **

“Fine, let's get this over with.” Dante heard Vergil mutter to himself at the voice’s request. Seemingly manning himself up with a deep, reassuring breath, before setting his sights on the machine.

It was obvious Vergil was being stubborn. Not wanting to let his fear get the best of him, and make him look weak. But it was clearly a losing battle. One that could be seen with every hesitant step he made towards the booth. Progressively turning more ghostly pale with fright, the longer his eyes locked onto the waiting mechanical arms before him. His face slipping from one of utter confidence in the face of this new found foe, to one of utter terror. One step away from entering the damn thing, he looked as though he were about to bottle it-

“Oh no you don’t!” Dante yelled. Running up behind his twin and ever so lovingly giving Vergil a  _ ‘gentle’ _ shove inside. Triggering the machine's sensors to quickly raise up the safety pen behind him the moment he passed its threshold. Blocking his only route escape. 

It was a glorious sight to behold to say the least. As once Vergil snapped back to reality out of his stupor. Dante watched the sheer horror form on his brother’s face when he realised the situation he had got himself in. He spun back around, and began frantically attempting to break through the pen’s, unfortunately rather sturdy, glass wall. 

“DANTE, LET ME OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!” Vergil demanded furiously. Desperately pounding on the wall with his fists. 

“No can do I’m afraid bro!” Dante swiftly rejected, from the other side of the glass. Even if he may have wanted to help him, it seemed there was no way to cancel the order now that the nearby panel's UI had switched to a ‘measurement’ mode. Meaning his brother was trapped in there for better or for worse. Vergil was just going to have to suck it up until the outfit was done.

Of course, Vergil didn’t exactly take that news very well. Proceeding to bang even harder on the glass when the sound of a machine whirring to life behind him started. “FOR GOD SAKE DANTE! NOW ISN’T THE TIME TO BE PLAYING GAMES! I'M GOING TO DIE IN HERE!"

“Oh, it's not  _ that _ bad! See! I’m perfectly alive and well after being in there, aren’t I? Not a single scratch on me in the slightest!” He reassured, gesturing to his outfitted body. “And Hey! You were the one who said you wanted to get this over and done with!”

“WELL I RETRACT THAT NOW! JUST PLEASE LET ME OU-“

Vergil swiftly cut himself off. Freezing up and going deathly silent when he noticed a series of red lasers rising up his legs in a criss cross pattern. Scanning him. 

It seemed he could only guess what could happen next. As once the lasers had finished their assessment of his body and vanished from sight, he shut his eyes tightly. Flinching with fear when one of the robotic arms came into contact with the back of his calf. Grazing it ice cold metal against his skin.

“What is it doing to me, Dante?” Vergil asked in a quieter voice. 

“I don’t know? You could just open your eyes and look-“

“I am _not_ opening them.” He growled adamantly, through gritted teeth. 

“Fine! It looks like it's about wrapping some material around your leg. Think it's about to start work on some trousers." Dante reported back nonchalantly. Putting his hand against the glass, as he looked on at the mechanical arms at work. 

“Are there any needles present?” Vergil inquired; voice strained, as he tried his best to not squirm away from the touch of the metal arm once again. 

“Not yet. But they’re coming~” He taunted. Well timed too. As the moment he said this, Dante watched as the robotic arms suddenly clamped down around his twin’s leg, holding the green velvet material wrapped around it in place. Causing Vergil to yelped with surprise, in an _ embarrassingly _ high pitched voice. 

That was the last straw for Dante. Unable to hold himself back anymore, now that merciful damn finally burst. He broke out into whaling laughter. Tears in his eyes as he smacked his hand against the glass in hysterics. Unable to catch a breath as he suffocated under the weight of his own cackling. 

_ Oh man! This is just too good! If I’d only known about this earlier! I would have totally dragged Verge to one of these places if I knew it would’ve knocked him off his high horse! Don’t think I have ever seen him freak out this much!  _

“Stop laughing!” Vergil protested angrily. His face turning progressively more red, despite not once opening his eyes. Rather they scrunched up tightly with rage. 

“Aw, Come on! It's not that often I get to see you being scared by something!” Dante remarked in a breathless voice. Slowly coming down from his laughing fit, although still struggling to catch his breath between the trickles of laughter still pouring forth from his mouth.

“I was not  _ scared  _ in the  _ slightest.  _ It was just rather…unexpected. Does that settle the matter?” 

“Yeah sure.” Dante brushed him off in a blasé manner, as his energetic chuckles came to an end. "Can’t promise I won’t tell anyone about your little secret though-"

“What secret?” Came Lady’s voice from behind. 

“Nothing.” Vergil stated hastily, before Dante had a chance to open his mouth. Hesitantly peaking one sapphire eye open as he looked over at the mercenary standing in the doorway. “Have you got news for us?"

“Yeah! Have we got those tickets or what? Didn’t exactly look good from what I was seeing.” Dante chimed in. Leaning back against the glass wall with his arms crossed.

“It’s a...little complicated to say the least.” Lady sighed. Reaching up a hand to rub her eyes tiredly. “Alright. On the good news front, Morrison managed to get a hold of some tickets. Remember that Modeus guy we met a while ago Dante?”

“Yeah, I remember him. What about the dude?” Dante asked darkly. The not so pleasant memories of what had occurred at the databank came rushing back to him, raw as the moment Modeus had uttered his  _ ‘request’ _ . "Want us to hand over Verge or something for those tickets?"

“No. I don’t think there’s any catch like that as far as I’m aware. Apparently the cult sent him some as a ’show of goodwill’ towards his media corporation. Not surprisingly Modeus called their bluff on that one. Since that’s partially the textbook 101 method of getting a big company to spread their deranged propaganda by indoctrinating the hire ups.” Lady explained, walking across the room and over to the leather sofa. Collapsing back into its comfy embrace and spreading her arms wide over its back leisurely before continuing; “He obviously wasn’t going to go to their event. But since Morrison was asking around if anyone had some tickets to spare. He handed them over, no questions asked."

_ Well ain’t that surprisingly charitable for a guy like him! Guess maybe he isn’t that big of a dick after all.  _ Dante mused. Rubbing the back of his head. 

“But that’s not the whole story is it? You wouldn’t have been on the phone so long if that weren’t that case.” Vergil ducted; staring at her intently. Most likely in an attempt to avoid looking at the sharp needles now rapidly poking and prodding at his legs.

“No it isn’t.” Lady sighed. Raising one finger into the air. “To be more accurate, we have  **_a_ ** ticket from Modeus. Just the one.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! <3
> 
> There will most likely be another delay before the next chapter of this, since I need to get going with my DMC Week 2020 stories! But I'm very much looking forward to the next chapter, since that's when stuff is really going to kick off! :D
> 
> Tumblr: https://louadorable126.tumblr.com


	7. Chapter 7 - The Cult of Fortuna Charity Event (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!
> 
> Been awhile since updating so my apologies for that! I took some time off to do the DMC Week 2020 event, and honestly had a ton of fun with it! 
> 
> Nevertheless I have three chapters now ready and raring to go to be published! I’ll probably put each one out every Monday for the next two weeks starting from today. So hopefully that should be enjoyable!
> 
> This small charity event arc has kinda taken more work than I was expecting to be honest! ｡(*^▽^*)ゞ But hopefully it shall be worth it as there are some fun surprises coming up in these next 3 chapters!
> 
> Oh! And in other good news I’ve somewhat finalised my plan ahead for the next 8ish chapters! This fic will probably be about 20 Chapters long from my current estimate. So all I’ll have to do is write it all sometime in the next 6 months, so no pressure there! He he he… O.O
> 
> Self-deprecation aside, I’m really liking where this story is going and I hope you guys will too! (⁎❝᷀ົ ˙̫ ❝᷀ົ⁎)
> 
> One last thing, this chapter gets rather violent near the end. So please look out for that, if you are made uncomfortable by the act of decapitation or anything neck injury related!
> 
> Aside from that! Please enjoy!

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Vergil muttered under his breath to his companion. 

“I don’t see why it wouldn’t.” Lady responded, equally quietly. Maintain a cool composure as the two of them were hurried along by an elegant receptionist striding ahead of them. Chatting idly into her earpiece and nodding to herself, as she wordlessly gestured with her tablet for the pair to go around another corner. Guiding them deeper and deeper into the grand building. “Hey look! Security is up ahead.”

“That it is.” Vergil remarked absently, as the group approached a group of well armed men standing guard outside a pair of large, blackout glass doors. Trying his best to calm his racing heart, and shut down any panic that dared to enter his mind in that moment.

Truth be told, this kind of situation was completely foreign to him. For one, he didn’t have Yamato on him. His ultimate safety net was left abandoned in Lady’s apartment after a heated debate between the two of them. Lady only won in the end by a small margin, through appealing to his logical thought process. Pointing out, as she had so crudely put it: _‘Where the hell are we supposed to hide it then?! Are you going to shove it up your ass or something?"_

So he was weaponless. Just the thing he needed when he was diving head first into the belly of the beast. At least Lady had a weapon on her, as far as he knew. Not.. that he had seen its _exact_ whereabouts for himself. He did have an inkling of an idea where it _might_ be located. But the thought alone set his face alight with shame. It would be completely unfitting of him to ask her what lay beneath her dress-

“Excuse me, sir!” A deep, robotic voice barked. Snapping Vergil back to reality. He found himself standing before one of the armoured guards, dressed in a peculiar white and gold combination. An old-fashioned crest branded on their chest. "Could I have your identification and ticket please? Your partner has already handed her one over.”

“Of course.” To have to pretend to be somebody else, right to an enemies’ face, was a daunting task for anyone. Let alone one that was already an uninvited guest in this place. Vergil felt incredibly exposed in that moment, as he reached into the pocket of his leafy-coloured suit. Grabbing for what he knew would be empty air in his pocket. The guard watched on expectantly, his fingers coming to rest on the trigger of his white rifle the longer he took. Of course, failure was going to come to them before they even got inside!

“Ah! Don’t worry about him! "He’s my- uh... a-assistant?" Lady suddenly blurted out nervously; putting herself in front of him. Assistant?! Who did she think he was?! Her personal damn maid!? “I thought events like this allowed plus ones?”

The guard physically backed down at her words. Lowering his rifle. “So he’s with you madam?”

“Yes!” Lady nodded adamantly. 

The guard turned aside for one moment and reached a hand up to the side of his helmet, mumbling a string of intelligible, static-soaked words across what must’ve been some sort of intercom. A high-pitched whine soon came in response, causing the guard to nod his head in understanding. Not a moment later, he glanced over at his co-worker by the door. Giving a hearty thumbs up to him in acceptance of her claim. 

Without another word, the other guard sprang to life from his stony vigil. Swiftly opening the glass door wide for the pair, and allowing a marvelous concerto of violins and idle chatter to bleed through the entrance way. 

“You’re free to enter. Just don’t let that assistant of your's leave your sights, alright?” The guard ordered strictly. Moving aside and gesturing for the two to pass.

“Will do. Thanks!” Lady smiled widely - and rather falsely to Vergil’s eyes - as the woman suddenly grabbed a firm hold of his arm. The pair hurriedly striding inside, before the door shut behind them.

“ _Your Assistant?_ Just what am I to you?!” Vergil growled angrily, finally free to vent his frustration. He looked down at his black dressed companion by his side with burning discontent in his eyes. Unable to believe the cheek of this woman to think that he’d willingly be her- her personal ** _slave_**! He was already Dante’s long suffering vassal whether he liked it or not!

“Look, it was that or fiancé. Just be glad I didn’t choose the other in the spur of the moment!” Lady deflected in a joking tone. Casually let go of his arm now no-one was looking, and placed her hands on her hips. “Come on, you knew what being the plus one meant. And I’ll have you know I’m a very accomplished business woman, Mr Assistant!”

“In what field?” He huffed in a sarcastic voice, turning his head away. When Lady couldn’t respond imminently, a small smile crept onto Vergil’s lips. _It seems I've won this round._

The mercenary soon gave in with a frustrated sigh. “Let’s not go in too deep into my backstory, ok?” She walked down the short glass corridor overlooking the city, ahead of him, towards the swelling noise. “You coming or not, Vergil?”

* * *

As they made their way inside, Vergil's eyes struggled to adjust to the bright lights and shimmering shapes. 

The decor itself was kept in a classical style he could almost have enjoyed himself, if it hadn't been for how excessively gaudy and golden everything was. Every surface was polished to perfection, reflecting the massive golden chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. They banished any and all shadow from the hall and its glamorous attendants - most of whom engaged in what seemed like civil discussion on the surface, chuckling with their glasses of excellently poured champagne in hand, yet like animals ruthlessly clawing and ripping away at each other’s status if one were to examine the finer details conversations - leaving no convenient retreat for Vergil to hide his newly-walnut-coloured hair whatsoever. He increasingly found himself worrying about the dye job, whether the bright light would expose some silvery-white spots on his scalp, ruining his disguise in an instant.

Well ok, maybe not just that. This hair colour… it was taking quite a bit to get used too. In an ideal world, Vergil wouldn’t want to look at it anymore than he needed too. Yet, ever damn surface in here had to go and tauntingly reflect it back at him! Even the polished granite floor beneath his feet wouldn’t let him escape his brownish locks, when he foolishly dropped his gaze to evade its sight. Seeing himself like this- He didn’t like looking _this_ mundanely human. It so felt wrong on countless levels.

Vergil reached a hand up into his hair and began frivolously combing at it. If only to sate that self-conscious itch just the littlest bit through the familiar action. 

“Oh wow! They’ve got a buffet here! We’ve gotta try that out now!” Lady’s excited voice drifted to his ears across the sea of noise surrounding them. Vergil felt an elbow nudge at his side. “Can’t say that every job comes with these kinds of benefits- uh Vergil? You in there?"

“I’m fine.” He said, quickly hiding his hand in his jacket pocket. Praying she didn’t notice it in his hair, even if the compulsive itch to comb it remained. _Stop thinking about it. Why get so wound up over such minor aesthetics?!_ "Yes to whatever you were saying.”

“Rude.” Lady scoffed, moving to stand directly in front of him. Her arms crossed. The long sleeves of her black dress hanging down across her body. “Please tell me not worrying about your hair again are you? I already told you it's fine!”

Vergil shook his head. “I’m not. I’m... just thinking about the mission ahead.” He said quietly, wanting to change the subject of the conversation to something else more for his own sanity than anything else. “I can’t see any of these leaders Augustus was talking about. Can you?”

“No. But I doubt they’ll try and be the most visible people here. I mean who would go around with a sign saying ‘Look at me! I’m a cultist who’s lost all grip with reality’ in front of these kinds of people? I bet if you looked at them the wrong way and they'd probably get someone like me to disappear you.” Lady noted in a quiet voice. Moving in closer to Vergil as a wealthy couple in all-rose pink strode past them.

“Are the wealthy really that pathetic? Being so insecure in themselves that they can’t stand to let someone who violates them live?”

Lady put a teasing finger up to her rouge lipstick stained lips. “Strange. That reminds me of someone...”

“What?” Vergil asked, dumbfounded. Unsure as to who she was referring too. 

“Nothing! Ah, excuse me!” Lady broke away from him and waved down someone behind the demon. A veiled figure in all white - not unlike the type Vergil had encountered carrying that unfortunate young woman into that conversation lab on that fateful mission two weeks ago - came over to them. They were carrying a white plastic tray filled with a variety of party food. A waiter by all means. “Could I try one of those? Thank you~!”

Lady carefully picked up a ridiculously minuscule sausage roll from the tray, and plopped it into her mouth. A serene look of joy overcame her at its taste, squeezing her eyes shut with pleasure. “Oh my god! These are so good~ Can I have another?”

Vergil watched on at his companion's feasting before him, as she took another hilariously small nibble - a kebab - from the tray. He couldn’t bring himself to join her. No, not with how his stomach twisted and churned into tight knots, in disgust at finally seeing the cult's supply chain laid so bare before him like this. _What a twisted use of resources._ _They don't even change their uniforms here - waiters and kidnappers in one, you'd never know which one you're looking at._

 _“_ You should stop eating those.” Vergil suggested in a gentle tone. Lady turned her head back to him, she clearly looked annoyed that he was trying to tell her what to do. He’d have to be less subtle about this then. “I know a certain tattoo parlour that serves food like this.”

Lady’s delicate face suddenly paled dramatically in that moment. She uncomfortably gulped down the last nibble she was eating, and looked back over at the waiter. “Uhh, you can go now. Thanks.”

The waiter made a nod-like movement beneath the layers of fabric separating their faces. Before walking off towards the next group chatting ahead of them. 

“Sorry about that. Kinda easy to forget _that_ kind of stuff with the atmosphere around here.” Lady apologised sheepishly. Rubbing her hands together as she cast her mis-matched eyes down in shame. Clearly quite mortified by her actions. “God, what would my mother think of me?"

Vergil sighed. He was not annoyed at her by any means. Rather he understood where she was coming from. "You're blending in like you should, maybe a bit too enthusiastically...' He instinctively went to comb his hair again, having pricked his own insecurities on accident. "Don't let their appearances fool you-" 

A firm hand suddenly grabbed his arm. Vergil froze. His blue eyes hurriedly darted towards the smaller woman smiling up smugly at him. “Ah ha! You are worrying about your hair! I knew it!”

“Let go of me! You're making us look suspicious!” He snapped, perhaps a bit too loudly for his liking. Nervously glancing around at the several pairs of eyes critical now directed at them. The talented violinists - located across the room in their own little corner, isolated from the main guests by the wall music stands - grew more frantic in their tune, like a lion chasing its prey.

“ **_Me_ ** making us look suspicious? Seriously, it's not normal for someone to fiddle with their hair that much, Vergil!” Lady retaliated. She started to pull at his arm, attempting to yank his hand out of his soft hair. Yet, her fingers couldn’t find purchase on his silken suit. It slipped from her grip, causing her to go stumbling backwards.

“Ah!” Lady cried, as her back collided with someone else’s behind her.

“Watch where you are g-going! This p-p-place is not for...f-floundering!” The indignant stranger squawked. Panic immediately shot across Lady’s face. She quickly spun around to face the man, to apologise to him. Only to then recoil a few steps backwards, almost into Vergil, in equal parts surprise and alarm when she was met with a rather short - it was hard to tell his actual height from his hunched over posture - yet the burly man seeped in sweat. His tanned, angular face was clearly scrunched in irritation, a vein throbbing in his forehead and all. Yet there was a certain glint of wild excitement, in contrast to everything else about him, that could be seen in his bug-like brown eyes at the sight of the pair.

“I’m terribly sorry about that.” Lady apologised, putting on a polite and calm front almost too stereotypical form what was expected of the upper class surrounding them. Yet her speech was flawed, Vergil observed. It was a little _too_ hasty, as nerves wormed their way into her words. Not helped by the way she kept thrusting her hand behind her back, clearly reaching out for Vergil’s own. "We’ll be going-"

“Wait. No. Please stay m-my dear!” The sinister-looking man was suddenly encouraged. Changing his tune not just orally but physically as well. As an off-kilter toothy smile, obviously attempting to feign friendliness, dragged across his unpleasant features. “You…can perhaps still be of some b-benefit to me… Please tell me about yourself...”

Lady let out an awkward, nervous laugh. “O-Oh, me? Well I’m..uhh-“ 

“She’s the heiresses to a large fortune.” Vergil chimed in smoothly. Placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezing it slightly, in the hopes she’d get the message to leave the talking to him. “Her parents are in the weapons sector developing arms for the emperor’s war effort.”

“A lucrative business indeed I imagine! I once dabbled in s-such things myself.” The man commented. Turning his gaze to the demon curiously. “You are her bodyguard then?”

“Assistant.”

“Bah! What a waste of such a _fine_ s-specimen!” The hunched man exclaimed. Adjusting his golden monocle as he examined every inch of the young man before him with a critical eye. His uneasy grin grew more and more depraved. “You’d be an excellent… trial run for what I have planned.” 

“Thank...you for that?” That didn’t sound good at all. 

The man broke eye-contact and started eagerly nodding to himself, as though he were frantically writing down detailed notes on a clipboard in his brain. “Youth such as yours was not a f-f-factor I had considered in my r-research. Yes. You two will do wonderfully in my hands-“

“Agnus, you’re not creeping out the guests again are you?” A commanding, electronic feminine voice interrupted.

A tall woman approached them. Crossing the party floor like a Soldier marching towards its target. She wasn’t dressed in the same elegant black-tie garb as everyone else surrounding them. Standing out like a sore thumb in her form fitting, bulky white and gold armour - just like the guards outside. Her face, likewise, was obscured by a helmet akin to that of a motor cyclist - its visor equally infected with the Midas touch. Yet despite this militaristic fashion choice, she seemed to carry no weapon on her person whatsoever. Well, at least as far as Vergil could observe anyway. 

“How dare you assume such a thing! I was m-merely greeting our esteemed guests…" 

“Sure you were.” The woman sighed, shaking her head. Coming to stand in between the two parties. “His Holiness wants to see you.”

“What does Sanctus want now?! Can he not see that I am b-busy?” The hunched man, Agnus, snapped furiously. 

“I’m just the messenger. You can go talk to him yourself if you want to find out.” The armoured woman stated condescendingly, despite his hostility, like a mother trying to gently hurry her tantruming son along. 

“He b-better have a good reason for this…” Agnus sneered, teeth bared. He turned away angrily, and hurriedly stormed off through the nearby crowd. Pushing and shoving his way through to protesting cries of men and women alike. Vanishing from sight not long after.

“I suppose that’s him at least dealt with!” The armoured woman chuckled to herself, exhaustion slipping its way into her voice despite its electronic distortion. She spun around to face the pair and extended a welcoming, gloved hand. “My name’s Gloria. I’m sorry about him. Let’s just say Agnus isn’t the most social of creatures.”

“Yeah we can tell.” Lady said, hesitantly taking the other woman’s hand in her own and shaking it. “Was calling my assistant here a ‘fine specimen’. Like that couldn’t be further from the truth-“

“Excuse me?” Vergil gruffly protested in offence. Only to be swiftly ignored by the two woman. 

“Oh he does that! Don’t worry about it. Huh-?“ Gloria suddenly glanced over her shoulder, and touched the side of her helmet with her hand. The faint, familiar sound of radio static snuck its way over to Vergil's ears, despite the clamor of the festivities. It was too low to make out what exactly the message was, but her change in posture followed by a nod towards the two guards stationed over by the stage was enough to give him a fairly good idea about it. “I need to go. Nice meeting you two!”

“Um… same?” Lady called back somewhat awkwardly to Gloria’s rear, as the woman rushed off without another word. 

“So that would be the supposed head of enforcement then? Not what I would have imagined.” Vergil commented, watching the armoured woman meet up with two guards before heading through a nearby catering door - a veiled waiter, carrying a tray full of neatly stacked champagne glasses, dodging to the side as they passed. 

“I agree. She seems… _friendly?_ ” Lady shrugged, attempting to sound optimistic. “But that’s gotta be a mask for something right? I mean…we’ve seen what the cult gets up to. You can’t just hold that kind of brutal, fear mongering operation together with all friendship and magic. Something has to give.”

“You’re not wrong.” Vergil said, finally taking his stern hand off her shoulder. Now genuinely wondering about what kind of monster lay beneath the woman they had just met. "At least we ended up on the right side of her. I don’t think your antics particularly endeared us to Agnus.”

“That man was every bit of a scary science gremlin as I'd imagined. No wonder Augustus hates working for the guy!” 

“Hmm.” The demon hummed in agreement. He couldn’t exactly call her assessment of the man unfair. The man was a… science gremlin? Thinking about it, she certainly had some strange ways of summing people up. Accurate nethertheless.

Yet, they certainly had gathered far more information out of Agnus than Vergil had ever been expecting. Especially whatever this ’new trail’ of his was. Had… _certain things_ not come up during these last few weeks, he was sure his superiors would’ve loved to learn what he had just gleamed, plus the additional information they’d gathered from Augustus. A promotion, away from Dante and his stupidity, just within his reach. Perhaps from there, he could've even worm his way into higher education-

Vergil shook his head, a disappearing hand’s fingers resting on his hairline. _How fate just has it out for me. The one time an opportunity like this arises, and here I am stuck as a slave to other’s whims. Bound up in the promises and agreements of different parties, least my head be on the chopping block._

**_CRASH_ **

“What the-“ Lady blurted, jolting in alarm. 

“Stupid god damn veil!” 

Vergil closed his eyes and slowly turned towards the source of the commotion, mentally preparing himself for whatever chaos the owner of _that_ voice had inevitably caused.

The sight in front of him was rather pitiful. A waiter - undoubtedly his clumsy brother - collapsed on the ground, surrounded by shards of broken glass, nervously rubbing his head. His bare face open for the world to see, with his veil ripped in twain, half its white silken cloth laying in tatters before his feet. Miraculously, he had lost only half of the glasses he had assumedly been carrying, the rest of them formed a misshapen and precariously leaning pyramid on the tray next to Dante. Judging by the reaction of the guests though, his accident had displeased them less than his cursing - an older man in a suit went as far as to loudly berate Vergil's ever reddening brother, whose eyes were just darting around looking for a way to excuse himself.

And an excuse Vergil was. For as soon as his little brother’s eyes landed on his twin, he immediately perked his head up like an overzealous meerkat. A wide, almost cartoonish smile lighting up across his features. Dante kicked himself up off the slippery ground, completely ignoring the increasing ire of the old man's scolding, that now almost boarded on full on abusive shouting, and carefully bent down to scope what remained of the contents of his tray. 

“Yeah yeah! Calm it down a notch, old man! Pinky promise I won’t do it again!” Dante replied, waving the fuming elder off uncaringly as he walked away from the scene. 

“You are aware you could be fired for something like that.” Vergil greeted his brother in character. 

“It's a gig economy. I’ll just find somewhere else to be used and abused for barely less than minimum wage.” Dante sighed dramatically. Almost offensive in its insincerity. “Doubt you’d understand, sir. What with being engaged to this beautiful lady here-“

“He’s my personal assistant, you idiot!” Lady barked furiously, stamping her heel down on his foot hard.

“Ow! H-Hey, how the hell could I have know? I left way before you guys!” Dante hastily defended himself with a sheepish smile, growing more wobbly and fearful in the tense silence between the group. Lady’s ominous glare like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. As though she was considering her options on how best to murder him. 

As if to avoid her gaze, Dante spun around and almost showed the remains of his tray into Vergil's face. The glasses, clanking against one another, as it shook with the slightest of nervous tremors. 

_What is he playing at? He knows full well I don’t like alcohol._ Vergil thought suspiciously, coming close to rejecting him then and there, if not wanting to cause even more of a scene than his companions had both already created. He could’ve sworn half the guests eyes were fixed on them right now.

Vergil carefully took one of the more precariously perched champagne glasses off the top. Following etiquette, he lifted the glass up to his lips and let the fizzy liquid flow into his mouth, popping and bubbling against his tongue. Its sharp taste quickly and rather unexpectedly overwhelmed his taste buds. He winced and panicky gulped it down, only for it to burn his throat up in a mighty inferno. Shortly thereafter bursting into a coughing fit.

The static pop of a microphone turning on suddenly cut through the room. Around them, the hushed background mumble of chatter gradually began to die down at the sound. The room fell so silent that even the creak footsteps making its way onto the stage could be heard. 

Vergil tried to get a hold of himself. Trying to let out one last dignified cough, before throwing a hand up to his throat. Desperately willing for the fiery irritation to stop Yet, the tickle of another’s long hair stalked across his neck. His brother’s face appearing by his ear, whispering to him with a certain smugness to his voice; “Nice hair by the way, bro.”

* * *

 _Aw man, Verge looks so pissed! And there’s nothing he can do about it!_ Dante grinned to himself, quickly pulling back and away from his brother. Taking great pleasure in watching his twin's stoic face flushed red with a perfect cocktail of embarrassment and fury at his words. Defensively reaching up and grabbing a fist of dyed hair in his hand.

If Dante could say he was qualified in anything, it was pushing Vergil’s buttons in _just_ the right way (Alcohol was his secret sauce of choice. Poor guy was totally a lightweight!) that he could break through that grumpy outer shell of his. Revealing the hilariously awkward older brother he knew lay hidden beneath. It was part of the natural life cycle of their relationship, that Dante had come to relish. And if he had to be honest, Vergil was totally in need of a good ego kicking right now after what he’d put him through tonight. 

**_"What the hell do you mean I can’t be the plus one!?”_ **

**_“You’re not a good fit for it.”_ **

**_“Fit for it? Like hell I am!”_ **

**_“Dante, you are unsophisticated and vulgar at the best of times. Those people will spot you as an imposter among their peers from a mile away.”_ **

**_“Like you're any better!”_ **

**_"I’m not letting you risk our family over your fleeting interest in that woman!”_ **

**_“Hey! Maybe I just don’t like working my ass off carrying around food all night, and would rather just hang out with Lady-"_ **

**_“You're being a waiter Dante. That’s final."_ **

Just the thought of that conversation still stirred a deep childish indignation in Dante. Yeah sure, he had an equally important part to play in this plan of theirs. Actually scrap that - probably **_the_ ** most important part. But that didn’t mean Vergil couldn’t have gone on waiter duty himself! The meticulous bastard probably would have _loved_ loading up 30 glasses of Champagne, all to the exact same precise height - only to be yelled at and told to do it all over again. (Look… he _may_ have been stuck doing that for the past hour, so he was at the very least entitled to be salty about it! Who even cared that much about details anyway?) Not to mention those damn veils he could hardly see shit through! It was a horrible job-

And well… Lady looked really pretty tonight. Just a statement of fact of course! God, if she heard him say that… well he didn’t want to think where her heels would end up. But all the same, he wished he could’ve gotten to see more of her like this.

Speaking of which...

“Wait. That's Sanctus?” Lady’s hushed voice drifted over to the pair of them. 

Dante turned to see who she was looking at. “Woah! He’s an old dude?!”

The man hobbling across the stage certainly wasn’t what Dante would’ve pictured as a machiavellian cult leader. Nor any kind of believable messiah. He was maybe in his late 70s? Certainly not looking well for his age, even from a brief glance between the heads of the gathering crowd around them. 

Everything about him was gaunt. His wrinkled face was shallow - his cheeks having collapsed in on themselves, leaving jutting, skeleton-like cheekbones. The thick white robes he wore, hung off his body in a way that left little to the imagination about the stick-like figure that lay beneath. The bony hand that held his walking stick - a pitch-white plastic rod with a glowing neon halo at its peak - trembled violently under the strain of the body weight being forced upon it. Each step looking like it took a tremendous amount of effort, the walking stick was practically driven into the ground with a clank, until he reached the microphone waiting for him at the centre of the stage.

“Greetings and welcome my esteemed guests.” Sanctus greeted in a frail, yet punctual voice. Sharply grabbing even Dante’s easily wandering attention, despite its stuffy formality. “I hope your stay here has been a pleasant one. Its much deserved. For your contributions to our trust tonight will greatly further our ongoing medical research…”

 _That’s a pretty twisted way of putting it, old man._ Dante thought fiercely, hands curling up into tight fists. Glad he hadn’t been paying attention to what the cult’s 'charity’ was supposed to be until now. He certainly would have found it a lot harder not to snap at some of those self-righteous men and women, he had seen proudly proclaiming their 'virtue' to one another tonight. 

“Giving. That is what tonight is about. The fact that _you_ have given to us has not gone unnoticed, and we have rewarded you for it. Yet, everyday we take, greedily, from our dear Emperor. As I assume you are all aware, our victory over Vigrid was not without the sacrifice of our protectors.” The old man shook his head despairingly. "Giving their lives so that we may not live under tyranny. Shameful. Utterly shameful, that we are unable to return such kindness to them…”

_Uhh, not sure Dad particularly cares. But thanks for the thought of a weird cult? Huh-_

That train of thought was cut short by a quick tug at his arm. Vergil, after having gotten his brother's - and Lady's - attention, was nodding towards a guard, who was hurriedly attempting to traverse the enraptured audience. 

“A security breach Gloria? You can’t be serious!” The man attempted to mutter into his radio, only for the sound to be clumsy projected by his artificial, robotic voice. “Everyone we signed in had ID! Fuck. J-Just check again!”

“That.. doesn’t sound good.” Lady commented worriedly. Nervously glancing around the room at the stationed guards surrounding them. “Crap. It's only going to be a matter of time before they find out about my little stunt with Vergil.”

“Indeed.” Vergil said, reaching down to his waist where Yamato would normally be holstered. Only to be sorely disappointed when all his hand was met with was open air. A low growl escaped his lips in frustration, as the demon looked back up at his twin. Meeting his eyes with fierce determination. “Dante, you need to-"

“My organisation is on the very verge of being able to achieve such a feat. Soon we shall be able to improve ourselves beyond our current inferior flesh, so we may become like them. And by doing so, they shall no longer need to reject us for our wretched impurity. Welcoming us into their embrace with open arms-“

His speech was abruptly cut off, as Gloria walked onto the stage. She lent down beside the frail old man, and whispered into his ear just loud enough that the microphone could pick up; “We need to move, Sir.” 

A look of concern short across Sanctus’ elderly features for the briefest second. Yet he remained calm and composed, as he lightly nodded in understanding of her words. “I’m afraid I must cut this short. I am needed elsewhere. Thank you all for coming.”

Not long after, he was quickly escorted off the stage by the woman in white. Allowing the violin concerto to continue its calming, classical ballad once more. 

“Kick their asses for us, ok?” Lady cheered, with a proud pat on the shoulder. Smiling fondly at him, as Vergil took her arm and began hurriedly dragging the pair of them away, across the party floor, to somewhere more inconspicuous. 

“Will do, babe.” He smirked back. 

* * *

“Alright, which one did I leave you in?” The demon muttered. Tracing a hand along a smooth wall of closet doors, hurriedly strolled down the tight corridor. “Not you. Not you. You don’t even have a lock! Ugh, that smells of bleach and vomit- ah ha!”

Dante backed away from the nondescript door, a victorious smile crossing his lips. These service corridors were a labyrinth at the best of times, full of people frantically rushing around in the dark,bashing into one another. Not to mention the blistering heat that swept the place, due to the AC giving out. He could only be glad he got the right area first time around, and didn’t have to dive head first back into that madness outside again. 

He rummaged in the uncomfortably small pocket of his white robe, struggling to get his large fingers around the plastic key card that lay within, and pull it out through the tight hole. The demon managed it eventually, however the loud rip of material that accompanied it, signalled he wasn’t going to win him any awards with those scary old ladies he’d met handing out these damn outfits. 

_Ah great. Let’s just hope I don’t run into those guys again. Verge will be pissed if someone else got to make a porcupine out of me, that isn’t him._ Dante told himself, letting out a despairing sigh, as he tapped the key card against the doors sleek black panel. A green tick appeared beneath it, before the door’s mechanism clicked open. 

Dante looked around, checking nobody was coming for one last time, before carefully pushing open the door. Inside the small cupboard lay a grandly decorated catering trolly. A variety of pretty unpractical cylindrical cups, surrounded a equally plain-looking teapot - which much to the demon’s surprise, still weakly steaming, despite how long he had left it here - and coffee presser, beneath the warming canopy of an arraignment of yellow and orange flowers. Not that Dante had a blind clue what any of them were exactly! Horticulture had always been Eva’s- no, _his mother’s_ speciality... 

He walked into the room, and squatted down. Keeping a steady hand resting on the trolly table to maintain his balance, as he ever-so-carefully pulled up the white table cloth draped over the trolly. Heart pounding in his ears. 

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Am I glad to see you baby girl. Come on, papa’s gotta work for us."

Dropping the table cloth back down, Dante began to pull the trolly back out of the room- 

“SO YOU HAD NO REASON FOR SUMMONING ME?” A muffled shout rang out from nearby. “I SAW THE BEST SPECIMEN I’VE SEEN IN MONTHS, AND I WOULD HAVE HIM IN MY CLUTCHES NOW IF YOU HADN’T-"

 _Now if that doesn’t sound like the psycho cult we all know and love._ He quickly spun the trolley around, and headed towards the commotion. 

“For the last time Agnus, I made no such order! I haven't got a clue where Gloria got such a ridiculous idea from.” The raised voice of Sanctus echoed down the surprisingly empty hall. Two guards stood watch either side of an open door at the end of the corridor. Their hands resting on their large black rifles, alert. The room's bright light leaking out into the dark world outside it, like a lighthouse beacons' guide, as Dante approached. 

“So she was lying?” A new voice - energetic and youthful in intonation, yet distinctly masculine - chimed in. "Our holy father. We’ve told you not to place so much trust in that newcomer! The rate at which she has risen up our ranks-“

“Is incredible. Gloria is a prodigy for which I have not seen in many years. The efficiency and accuracy in her work has prevented word from getting out to the demonic military of our activities. Which given that Mundus’ war is coming to an end, means our work will be under extra scrutiny when an influx of demons return home from the frontline. They’ll crack down on us, attempt to purge us from this earth, with the abundance of resources they’ll have on their hands. That woman is our only life-line when the time comes. So I would ask that you _respect_ my judgement in her.”

“That is all well and good, Sanctus. But what of this security breach?” Another voice, deeper and classier, asked. "How can we be sure she is not deceiving us there too?”

“I trust that this security breach is indeed very real.” Sanctus reassured, in a serious voice. Pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts. “Gloria will swiftly dispatch it. That I can be sure. The guests will not be happy if their hosts are absent for too long-“

“Stop right there!”

“Put your hands up!"

“Woah! I-I’m just bringing some refreshments dude!” Dante yelled in surprise. Complying and throwing his hands high into the air, as he stared down the barrel of their rifles. His, now far-shorter, vail infuriatingly fluttering down across his face at the sudden movement - now the delicate equilibrium that had kept the slippery material pushed back, had been disturbed. Man, was he starting to understand Vergil’s pain now...

“What is it?” The old man inquired.

“We have a waiter here, sir.” The guard responded bluntly over his shoulder. Even if Dante tried to peak at who he was talking to. The leader’s of the cult were obscured from the demon's sight by the guard's mountainous frame, standing in the doorway. “We’ve been ordered to let nobody in or out.”

“What kind of drinks do you have, young man?” Sanctus asked curiously. 

Dante glanced down at his cart. “Uhhh…tea and coffee?” 

“Yes. I think we could all do with some of that.” The elderly man muttered tiredly, sounding at his wits end. "Let him enter.”

“Yes sir!” Both guards said in unison, briskly stepping aside and allowing him to pass through. 

Without a second of hesitation, Dante hurriedly pushed the trolly into the Lion’s den. Immediately he was met by the scrutinising eyes of the cult’s leaders, staring at him intently. The four of them sat around a large, circular table. With Sanctus was seated furthest away from the door at the other end of the room. An empty chair left by his side. 

“I believe most of us just take tea. Agnus is the only one who drinks coffee here.” The elderly man said politely. Gesturing a hand towards the sinister looking man, grumpily hunched over in his chair, beside Dante.

“Right.” Dante nodded eagerly. Crap, no waiter was ever that enthusiastic about their job!

Well, it's not like they questioned it too much. As he soon melted into the background, once their bickering restarted. Not that he paid too much attention to what they were actually saying. As he poured out a cup of coffee and carefully placed it beside a fuming Agnus. The guy looked as though he were about to blow a gasket at any moment under Sanctus’ bombardment of pressuring questions. He was clearly stressed, and Dante sure as hell didn’t want to be the one to set that guy off with one wrong move. 

It was like he’d walked into an old married couples' domestic dispute at just the worst possible time. The thick tension that hung in the air almost suffocating even Dante's shameless self. 

But he’d just have to put up with it. Worst things had happened to him and Vergil on missions before, and the convenience of this situation honestly couldn’t have been more of a blessing, than any kind of curse right now. What were the odds that he’d have everyone he needed to take out sitting in the same room, isolated away from any onlookers? Lady Luck couldn’t have made his job any easier! He sure as hell wouldn’t pass up the extra help! Guess this was just her way for paying him back for screwing him over so many times before-

"Excuse me, are you going to serve me that cup you poured, or are you waiting for it to get cold?" Asked the posh sounding man in a hushed voice. His comrades continued to squabble in the background. 

“Oh yeah, sorry!” Dante blurted apologetically, quickly sliding the cylindrical cup beside the well-dressed man. _Shit, right gotta keep up appearances. Come on Gloria you’ve gotta come back at some point. I can’t start the party until you're here..._

Dante’s blue eyes drifted over to the doorway once more, as he slowly pushed his trolly along to the next person. He was almost halfway around the table at this point, and once he’d run out of people to serve, the demon would no longer have an excuse to be here. Time was running out. 

He was going to have to take this slower then. Well, if there was a slower way of pouring tea! Actually crap, Verge might have actually taught him something like that awhile back. Of all the times he should have been listening to his twin’s _'strong'_ words of advice, why did _'Here’s the proper way to pour tea without ruining its taste Dante!'_ have to be one of them?

Furrowing his pale brows, the demon desperately tried to recall whatever details he could remember from that long-forgotten conversation, as he slowly brought his trolly to a stop beside Sanctus. 

“If you say it will be done by then, Agnus. We should have no fear in meeting our deadlines.” Sanctus remarked. Dropping his head down as he raised wrinkled hands to his temples. Rubbing them tiredly. “I can only hope you don’t disappoint me like last time…”

“I-It was not **_my_ **fault we went off track! You bought me a bad batch of fresh meat! There’s no quality control in your decision making-“

Sanctus glanced up at him, unpleased. “They were willing followers of ours. What more do you want?”

Agnus kicked his chair aside and abruptly stood up. Slamming his hands down on the table. “HOW _DARE_ YOU-“

“Boys, boys! Don’t fight while I’m gone now!” A feminine robotic voice hushed. The mad scientist's tune changed rather rapidly, freezing up, dead still at the sound. Awkwardly turning his head towards the doorway. Gloria stood there, one foot pressed up against the doorframe as she leisurely leaned back against it. Fiddling with her fingers like she was checking her non-existent nails on her white, leather gloved hands. “Are you going to sit back down anytime soon, Agnus? Or am I gonna have to relocate three lots of patrols from your labs, and see how well you do keeping those abominations of yours under control without them?”

The stout man exhaled a deep, infuriated huff before mercifully backing down at her threat. Reaching a hand behind his back and grabbing his leather chair, , letting himself fall into it with a loud creak as if to make a point. He crossed his arms like a petulant child that had just been told off by its mother, but knew better than to fight her.

“Thank you Gloria for that. Has the situation been resolved?” Sanctus asked. 

The woman nodded. “Problem sorted. Turns out it was a false flag. One of my captains misread our database and thought we’d let in more people than we should have. He certainly overacted. But that’s only because my men care for your safety, Holy Father."

“So your report was false?!” The younger man suddenly exclaimed, turning the room's attention to him. "Do you know how much this could affect our recruitment efforts?! All the effort I have put into tonight may as well have gone to waste! Do you understand!?”

Gloria stopped fiddling with her fingers, and pushed herself up from the doorway. Boldly striding over to the red-faced young man challenging her. “I’m sure they’ll pull through regardless of whether Sanctus meets them or not. They may be ruthless, but their not dumb. This is their only chance at achieving freedom. They won’t take this offer lightly.”

“Well spoken.” Sanctus smiled faintly.

The woman in white waved him off with a faint chuckle. Coming to stand behind the young man. “Ha ha! Why thank you! Perhaps you could promoted me to recruitment head next time the position is open..” She reached down and grabbed his tweed-dressed shoulders. Holding them with a death-like grip that made him frantically squirm under it, to break free. “I’m particularly talented at multitasking you know?” Her hands slid across the young man’s shoulders towards his silky cream-coloured scarf…

 _Hold the handle like this...you idiot?_ Dante hesitantly shifted his hold on the teapot's handle, trying to re-enact (maybe a bit too literally) how Vergil explained this to him. _No that doesn’t seem right._ He slid his fingers back along the handle to the old position, returning to square one.

"What on earth are you doing? Let go of m-“ A loud snap of a neck rang out across the room. Causing a crescendo of feverish commotion to surge forth from all present. Well…all except one person.

 _Ugh, this is fine._ Dante thought. Admitting defeat, as he slid his curled hand back across the ceramic handle for the third time. Still not having come to any kind of consensus whether he was anywhere near correct or not. _Ok, what next…_ _He said, something, something, foolishness - pour from like a.. 40ish degree angle? Jesus Verge! How the fuck am I meant to know that from sight alone?_

“Guards get in here at once! She’s gone insane!” The posh man shouted towards the entrance way, his voice steady and business-like. Attempting to keep a calm composure despite the situation. However, when no stampede of boots came in response to his cries, it quickly deteriorated in a matter of seconds. "Guards?!”

“They’re not coming.” Gloria remarked uncaringly, marching across the room towards him. “So please do me a favour and keep quiet?” She swung her long leg up into the air before him, just as a razor sharp, golden blade shot out of the heel of her boot. Skin connected with metal, and so effortlessly sliced the man’s head from his neck. 

_This looks about right?_ The demon was squatted down beside his cart. His eyes squinted, as he checked the precise angle of the steaming brown liquid escaping the teacup with a frown. _Oh what am I kidding! It's nowhere close! Eh, too late to do anything about it now. I’m already pouring._

“Do not f-freat, your Holiness! I shall get help!” Agnus yelled, diving out of the room behind Gloria’s back as she turned her sights on the holy father. The growing horror on Sanctus' wrinkled face captured in the dull reflection of her gilded mask. 

“Agnus get back here! Don’t leave me with this madwoman!” Sanctus screamed furiously, as the tail end of the scientist vanished from sight. Every inch of frail body trembling with fear as the blood-soaked woman stalked closer to his chair with every step. Two gold hilted swords, their blades glowing with a neon yellow light, materialising in her hands. “Agnus!!”

 _Alright, this better be the best cup of tea you’ve ever had in your whole goddamn life, your holiness!_ Dante picked up the cup and spun around, proudly presenting it towards Sanctus with a regal bow. Eyes closed.

“You’re tea, sir!” Dante announced boldly.

There was no response. 

Dante’s mouth twisted into a strained smile at that. “Hey, I’ve got the tea you wanted!”

Still nothing. 

Irritation at his tiresome efforts going unrecognised finally boiled over, as he stubbornly peaked one sapphire eye open. “Come on, dude! Are you gonna take it or n-"

There was a reason Sanctus didn’t respond. One that even Dante could find pretty damn acceptable. 

He was dead. 

The lady of the hour, Gloria, stood over him with a sword impaled right through the centre of his chest. His white robes stained crimson red, as blood continued to flowed freely through the thick material like a blooming flower, growing rapidly with every second. 

"Wrong place, wrong time - sorry sweetie." The robotic voice coming from the woman's helmet sounded almost remorseful as she ripped her blade out of the old man's chest and pointed it towards Dante. He had no time to anticipate her next move, a low lunge towards him, but his instincts knew precisely what to do. 

A quick flash of red, and the honed combat senses of his Devil Trigger took over, easily deflecting her attack, as her blade clashed with metallic skin. In the same motion, he ducked past his cart and drew his own sword, Rebellion, from its bowls. Immediately feeling much more at peace with the situation. Talking seemed fruitless, so Dante dimply readied his stance for another attack. Yet, to his surprise, the woman did not hesitate - not even a momentary blip of fear registered in her movements, despite the fact that he must have surprised her with his transformation. 

_Alright, so she’s a seasoned fighter then,_ he nodded to himself, deflecting her second lunge with a swipe of his own blade. As her sword scraped the ground, pushing his own towards the floor as well, he brought up his knee straight into the path of his opponent, smashing it into her helmet with a satisfying crunch.

“Argh!” The woman cried, stumbling back disoriented into the cart. Causing its elegant display to go crashing to the ground. What must’ve been her true, natural voice, shining through now that the robotic fabrication had crumbled away. 

This wouldn’t have been a big deal to Dante - aside from minor intrigue at this brief glimpse of his opponent’s true self - had her voice not sounded so.. so strangely familiar to him. He couldn’t quite place it off her pained cry alone. Yet, there was a certain warming calmness to its tone - like a toasty fire ever-so soothingly warming you up after a freezing day - that stuck out like a sore thumb in his mind. He had to brush it off though. As aside from Lady, he couldn’t think of any other woman in his life that could kick his ass this much! 

Well ok... it wasn’t like he had much to go off there. He only knew like, what? Two women super well? So the odds that Gloria here was either one of them was pretty fucking low!

“Bad day at work, huh?” Dante asked, stabbing his sword into the carpeted ground, and leaning onto its pommel casually. "Don’t think killing all your co-workers is the best way to handle workplace stress. Maybe you should, I don’t know, go talk to your Cult approved HR or something?”

“Ha ha! Very funny.” Gloria retorted sarcastically; her voice ragged and breathless, as she pushed herself up off the decimated trolly with one arm. 

“In all seriousness, what the hell was that all about? Not very loyal to Sanctus, are you?” Dante continued. Sure, he was still a little salty she’d stolen his kills. But Dante just knew there had to be some juicy gossip here, if their Head of Enforcement was turning on them like this. "And what’s up with that mask, lady? Like, I know you’re going to go for the whole two-faced, back-stabber aesthetic and all. But _I'd_ actually kinda like to know who I’m fighting!"

“Very well I suppose." She said, surprisingly cordial in her tone despite the insulting bite of his banter. "I don’t exactly need this anyway, now that you’re here.” She reached and un-clicked something at the back of her damaged helmet. Slowly but surely pulling it off. 

Long golden hair came pouring out of her helmet first. Obscuring her features from sight, as she cast her armour aside behind her like a bowling ball - rolling across the floor to some unknown place. 

“I really should’ve tied this up.” She muttered to herself, grumpily. She shook her head, freeing her hair to the wind-

Dante almost choked on his own saliva in shock? Horror? Fuck, he didn’t know how to react to this! But it set his heartbeat afire with overwhelming panic. Pounding so fast in his chest, in his ears, that he thought he was about to have a heart attack. Even his hardened stomach felt queasy, to the point he honestly feared he was on the verge of throwing up in the surge of the moment. Adrenaline running wild through his system. 

It was as though fate was laughing to his face, at the cruel irony of the situation. He wasn’t wrong earlier. There was a reason she sounded so familiar. Because god, had he heard that voice thousands of times! Every morning, every evening. Breakfast, Dinner, whenever he was down, or getting told off! How did he not realise-

Her face… no, **_everything_ ** about her was nigh identical to Eva. His mother.

And yet, there was not even the slightest glint of recognition in her emerald eyes at the sight of him. Her beloved little boy…

Dante backed away from her, his trembling sword held raised in front of him, shaking his head in adamant denial at what his eyes were telling him. This wasn’t Eva he knew, it couldn’t be! But then, if that were the case. What the hell was this doppelgänger standing before him?

“Who are you?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank so much you for reading! :D
> 
> Originally I was going to do this arc as two parts, but then I realised that would probably be a pain to read and so its been split into 3. So apologies for the cliffhanger at the end there! Still, the next part should be published by next Monday! So please look forward to that!
> 
> Poor Dante getting downgraded to waiter though! Even though this fic will most defiantly stay along the lines of Dante x Lady, I couldn't help myself at the idea Vergil goes as the plus one because he thinks his brother isn't sophisticated enough not to make a fool out of himself (Which being honest he probably would!). Still at least the shock of seeing Gloria for the first time fell on Dante instead of Vergil. I imagine the consequences otherwise would have been rather catastrophic....
> 
> Oh and one last thing! Awkward as it is for me to admit, as you've probably noticed I'm really not very good at getting chapters out super fast. Mostly because of the stress of meeting deadlines is pretty overwhelming for me, and that just leads to poorer quality of writing which I don't think anyone wants. So its probably a wise idea to bookmark this story if you want to keep up to date with the chapters whenever they come out! 
> 
> Tumblr: https://louadorable126.tumblr.com


	8. Chapter 8 - The Cult of Fortuna Charity Event (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! :D
> 
> Not much to say with this chapter (until the end), other than the fact it was probably one of my favourites to write! So I do hope you enjoy!
> 
> Oh and as a quick warning! Neck trauma involving glass is mentioned in very brief passing here. So please be aware of that if you are made uncomfortable by it in anyway!

“Who are you?!

The doppelgänger of Eva raised an eyebrow in confusion at his hysteria. “One of your kind?” She said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I’m on your side, so calm yourself."

 _Wait, she sees herself as a demon?_ Great, that totally didn’t soothe Dante’s fears! In fact the complete opposite. Only bringing forth more questions than answers in his already overworked mind. 

“S-Sorry. I, uh didn’t expect to see another…” He gulped for the words. "Another one of us down here.” He said shakily, lowering his sword, yet still not letting go of it completely. Playing along seemed like the best option right now in Dante’s mind. Freaking out, as reasonable as it was, wasn’t going to get him anywhere with this.“Why are you here then?"

“I would think the reason is pretty obvious, given that they are currently sitting around us.” The doppelgänger gestured to the limp bodies of the leaders. “Dispatch sent me to deal with these lunatics, and so I have. Though, how very thoughtful of them to send me a backup just in case~ You’re a damn good fighter, and I like that in an assistant."

“Dispatch?” So the demonic military had been looking into taking out the Cult of Fortuna as well then? Eh, not too big of a surprise. It was always gonna be a matter of time. At least on the upside, they’d saved him a job by pulling their ‘disappearing’ act on them here and now. “Oh right, dispatch! Yeah, they didn’t tell me anything about you being here. So hence, uh… all that-”

“Its fine, all is forgiven.” She cut in briskly, waving him off. Clearly holding no resentment at least. “They were probably trying to protect my identity. It's hard to put up a decent front if you know who you can trust!”

“True” Dante responded, somewhat detached; weakly leaning back against the solid wall behind him. In truth, he barely processed her words, too unsettled by the tone of her voice, that gentle yet smug smile not too dissimilar to his own… it was all too uncanny.

 _Ug_ _h, this is so weird!_ He whined to himself, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly. _Why couldn’t she just be a clone of Lady? At least she’d have another pretty sister if that were the case! Maybe a little more murderous, but I could work with that-_

A chorus of radio chatter spat its way out of the busted helmet. Easily startling the two of them, as they quickly turned their heads towards the sound. The thick static it emanated, made it far too hard to make out exactly what was being said. But if Dante had to guess just by how many voices were overlapping each other whenever it did get audible, the situation sounded quite hectic.

“Seems like security just found out about our little play session." Gloria commented, glancing over her shoulder towards the open door. The sound of a stampede of feet bashing against laminate sounding in the distance. She sighed, shaking her head. “And here I thought Agnus would be a slower runner.”

“Hang on, you didn’t kill all of them?!” Dante yelled in surprise. This wasn’t good at all. How the hell were they going to make good on their deal with Augustus if they hadn’t cut off all the hydra’s heads? (Maybe a bit too literally in the unfortunate case of the guy near to Dante.) God, Vergil was going to have his guts for this…

“I dealt with who I was ordered to deal with. We’ll leave it at that.” The woman in white said ominously, turning her back on him and heading towards the door.

“Right. Totally not the short and simple way of saying you fucked up!” Dante scoffed, unbelieving. 

“Oh, I could’ve killed him if I wanted.” Gloria reassured him confidently. Throwing her gilded blade up into the air playfully and catching it again stylishly. “We need to get moving.”

She left the room. Leaving Dante to on hurry after her begrudgingly; his bold red half-cape billowing behind him. 

_Okay. Maybe we can still get away with this, even if the cult leaders aren’t all dead!_ Dante thought, trying to reassure himself. _As long as the Cult of Fortuna doesn't reform under Agnus. Augustus will have no reason to think we screwed up. Yeah! All he wants is his family to be free. So like he need to know about the finer details of this mission anyway-_

His stream of consciousness was abruptly cut off, when his foot came into contact with something solid and heavy, just as he passed through the doorway. The demon glanced down curiously, only to immediately regret the decision when he found the two guards who’d assailed him at the door, laying out cold on the floor. Looking distinctly very dead, if the large pools of blood around them was anything to go by. 

_That explains why you guys didn’t come charging in at the first sound of commotion. Damn._ Dante mused, awkwardly stepping over the guard’s arm he’d come into contact with. Trying to avoid getting blood on his dark metallic feet, with picky, small steps. 

“Are you coming?” Gloria’s impatient voice asked. Dante looked up, finding his mother’s doppelgänger standing there in the darkness with her arms crossed disapprovingly - still holding her sword in one hand. “The sight of a few dead bodies scaring you, recruit?”

“Hey, I’m not the summer intern lady! Show me some respect, alright?” Dante said, biting back with his usual wit. Confidently walking off ahead of her down the hall ahead of her. “What even gives you authority over me anyway?”

“Oh I’ve only spent the last six months infiltrating my way inside here. I’d think with that amount of effort, I should be in charge instead of the guy who rocks up at the last minute!” 

“Hey, sometimes it’s only the last few minutes that count in the end anyway!” Dante responded cheekily, lifting his crimson sword up and resting it on his shoulders. An overly-dramatic, mournful sigh escaping him, as he pressed his hand on his forehead, like he was a tragic character on stage. “Though, not that my epic tea serving skills will ever be appreciated now."

“They were very nice, dear.” Gloria complimented calmly from his side. The blond woman had caught up with him once again. "Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“Perhaps. Although your real name would be nice too.” Dante smirked. 

He knew he was pushing it a bit here. If she was sent by the demonic military, it was likely she wasn’t allowed to reveal her true identity to anyone for the sake of keeping things nice and secure; names always meant loose ends, and that was never good for anything covert. 

It was a rule that Dante knew better than most (He kinda broke it... **_pretty_** often. Had the higher-ups or his dad found out about his first meeting with Lady for example, he no doubt would’ve gotten one hell of a rocket up his ass for how many protocols he’d broken). So the chances that uptight ‘Gloria’ here was gonna spill the beans on…well anything about herself, let alone the similarities to his mother, was unlikely at best. 

It seemed he wasn’t wrong, as Trish’s face turned hard at the suggestion. Looking dead ahead with the stern procession, pretending as though he wasn’t there. Leaving an uncomfortable silence (Not that you couldn’t really call it that though, with all the panicked yelling and commands to ’search the area’ echoing down from a few corridors back) to fall upon them. 

But that wasn’t to say there was a glimmer of hope. Every now and then, her lips would twitch almost like she was on the verge of saying something before shutting herself down once again. Until finally, she anxiously glanced over her shoulder and spoke.

“Trish.” 

Hot damn! He actually got something out of her! “Trish? Oh like Beatrice-“

“Just Trish.” She insisted firmly. Her fixing her green eyes over to the young man beside her, with an fearsome intensity only Vergil could match. "And your’s?”

Oh. He hadn’t thought that far ahead with this. 

_Should I tell her?_ Crap, that was a tough question. Sure in the here and now it would be fine. Perfectly reasonable too since she’d given her own. But, what happened when this mission was over? Trish would most likely have to report back on how this operation went down. Write up some boring essay that Dante normally left Vergil to handle. She’d surely mention he was involved as her ‘back-up’ or something. And that would be fine if she left it vague. There were plenty of grunts like him out there so he’d be pretty anonymous. 

But…if he was named. It wouldn’t take long for some clever-clogs back at dispatch to realise he was here unauthorised. Questions would be asked most certainly, and Dante wasn’t sure how well he or Vergil could defend themselves once that started happening. What, being involved in an unauthorised capacity on an operation months in the making, if he went off what Trish said. From there, it could only unravel more and more. The two week absence, Vergil’s little murder tour of the cities’ databanks, Lady, Eva-

 _What if they already know about Eva?_ Stuck the sudden, horrifying thought. _Trish thinks she’s a demon. What if they had- No! They can’t have done that!_

“I’m risking a lot telling you that, you know?” Trish huffed angrily, brushing hair out of her face rather elegantly. “Going to return the favour or not?”

“Yeah yeah I am..” Dante brushed her off, his voice quivering slight. If.. if they had done what he thought they’d done. There was no point hiding anything anymore. 

~~_There was no point to anything._ ~~

“Its.. its Dante” 

“Good name.” Trish praised, a faint smile tracing her lips. 

“Heard it before then?” He pried, returning with his usual confidant edge. Yet, that couldn’t be anywhere further from the truth in reality. His stomach was a torrent of nervous energy, swishing and swirling in anticipation for what would come as her reply. Honestly not sure if it would be a blessing or a curse if she did recognise him. 

“No. It's just an instinct. Nothing grander than that I’m afraid.” Trish professed a little bashful. “Although, rolls off the tongue rather nicely I suppose."

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Dante said, smiling weakly. Perhaps there was something there after all…

All of a sudden, Trish reached an arm across Dante’s chest and pulled him so they were both pressed flat against the wall. 

“Hey, what was that for-“

“Shut it.” Trish ordered sternly, voice low. Putting a finger to her lips, before gesturing with her eyes to the end of the corridor. 

Dante followed their gaze. In the dull yellow light leaking from around the corner. Two shadows, large and twisted in a way that made their builds indistinguishable, traced their way across the floor. Thankfully it seemed they had already passed by, if Dante guessed from the direction the shadows were moving. Having missed the pair of demons completely by some stroke of luck. 

“Think we’re safe. They’re leaving.” Dante whispered, moving to get up, only the flat edge of Trish’s golden blade to be pressed against his chest. Pinning down him in place, unmoving. 

“Not so fast.” Trish advised sternly. Carefully observing the shadows’ movements as they danced across the floor. “They’re going to loop back round any minute now."

“Loop back round? Look, their probably just catering staff on the move. Unless they’ve dropped any napkins on the floor that I’ve missed here, they are going to be long gone any minute now-“

“And why exactly would catering staff move in groups of two?” Trish inquired. She had a point. Tonight had taught Dante enough to know he was barking up the wrong tree here. He’d been left to do stuff on his own, actively encouraged in fact. So yeah, for two people to be walking around together with no trolly did seem kinda strange to be honest. “They’re most likely guards on patrol no doubt. My men….the _cults' guards_ have a protocol to move in groups of two. Means if one goes down the other can call for help. I know because I instituted it."

“Geez, thanks for making our lives harder I guess?” Dante joked.

“Oh I try my best~” Trish stated modestly. Removing her sword from his chest and lowering it back down to her side. “May as well make it up to you then, shouldn’t I Dante? I’ll only be a moment."

Sticking close to the wall, Trish swiftly began to make her way down the corridor. Disappearing around the corner moments later in one fluid, deadly movement. 

_Off she goes killing again._ Dante sighed to himself, letting out air he didn’t even realise he was holding in. The relief that he was on his own again striking him in that moment. He was thankful for it. Any more stress, and his strained heart probably was gonna give out young. And let’s just say keeling over from a heart attack, wasn’t exactly on the demon's to-do list tonight. 

The young man reclined his head back against the freezing wall. _Maybe I should tell her to just keep to non-violent takedowns until we get out of here. Would’ve thought a trail of dead bodies is going to be pretty obvious to follow-_

“What the-“ Cried a distinctly familiar, peppy voice. Followed by a surge of bright blue light streaking across the wall from around the corner. The crash of someone collapsing to the ground echoing down the corridor to Dante’s sensitive ears. Alerting him. 

_That can’t be good!_ Dante thought, imminently springing into action. Hurriedly sprinting down to check what was going on. 

Only to be met at gunpoint by Lady when he rounded the corner. 

“Woah! Hey it's just me!” He exclaimed, quickly dropping his weapon onto the ground with a clank, and raising his hands. "Don’t shoot, alright!"

“Dante?” Lady asked. The determined fury on her face, melting away into something far softer, as she cautiously lowered her pistol.

The sudden sound of a pained grunt drew Dante’s eyes to the sight of his brother - fully transformed in his combat armour - pinning a fallen Trish to the ground. His knee resting on her back, as the woman fought and writhed to break free. Reaching out her extended hand hopelessly for her sword, cast aside just out of the reach of her fingertips.

But that’s not what concerned Dante. In fact he probably couldn’t care less for Trish’s current predicament, when all his eyes could focus on was the blank expression on Vergil’s face. How deathly still he was. Ghostly pale like he was a marble statue. His eyes wide in shock as he stared down at the women beneath him, lost and confused. Fuck, that was never a good combination to see on him. A cold shiver ran down Dante’s spine.

“Sorry about that.” Lady apologised with a sheepish smile. “Not going to lie though, you gave us a pretty big scare after this lady came out of nowhere and attacked us.” The mercenary glanced over to her partner. “Right Vergil?"

He didn’t respond. Still completely catatonic, frozen in place, unmoving. 

“H…Hey bro, you ok?” Dante asked, keeping his voice as gentle and non confrontational as possible. Vergil was too fragile right now. Too delicate. He couldn’t risk his twin believing there was any malice to his words. Like a glass vase - when it shattered, burst into thousands of sharp, little pieces - it would have blood to pay with whatever it came into contact with. His brother was no different.

Slowly, very slowly, Vergil’s pinkish lips parted ever so slightly. A small, shuddering pant of air flowing from them.

“Why..” His grip on Trish’s shoulder tightened, hands trembling.”Why do you look like our mother?”

“Don’t know. Never met her, sweetie.” Trish replied, her voice strained as she continued to stretch. Clearly not caring much for anything other than getting a hold of her sword right now. “Can you get off-“

“DON’T PLAY GAMES WITH ME!” Vergil yelled furiously. Pounding his fist into the ground beside her head, the cheap laminate easily crumpling beneath. His metallic fist shaking. “WHY DO YOU LOOK LIKE HER? I DEMAND YOU TELL ME THIS INSTANT!"

“Hey! Calm it Vergil!” Dante commanded sternly. He highly doubted Vergil was actually going to hurt her. His twin was far too respectful of Eva to dare lay a finger on her in any form, weird doppelgänger or not. _That was just a warning shot meant to scare her_ , Dante guessed. But he could never be sure of his erratic motives, whenever Vergil got emotional like this. Dangerously emotional. "Look, maybe it's just a coincidence she looks like mum alright? I’m sure there are plenty of people who are blond and-"

“A coincidence?! Has your brain completely failed you tonight, brother?” Vergil snapped. Turning to face his twin with a scorching gaze. The undercurrent of his deep voice trembling with frightful emotion. "Someone appears who looks exactly like- like **_her_ ** _,_ and you just expect me to put it down to random chance?”

“Well, not like it's the first time something like that's happened tonight.” Trish’s raspy voice interjected. 

There was a pause. All eyes turning back to the fallen blond women with intrigue. 

“Elaborate.” Vergil commanded coldly.

Trish dropped her extended arm with a sigh. Giving up on whatever chances she had at reaching her weapon. 

“I didn’t realise there were two of you...” Trish admitted, a tad shamefully. "Twins, right?”

“Y-Yeah we are.” It felt like such a weird thing to see leave their mother’s lips. When Eva was always so _scarily_ good, distinguishing between the pair of them, no matter how well one pretended to be the other (Which neither of them were particularly good at to be frank. Always resorting to cheap stereotypes of the other). "You mean to say you thought me and Verge were the same person?"

“Yes.” Trish said, rolling her head to the side awkwardly so that her emerald eyes could glance up at his brother. “I always suspected you were an intruder. But I didn’t pursue it. Even when I first saw you over the cameras I could see from your features where your true heritage lay.”

“You mean he gave himself away by being too handsome?” Trish hummed in affirmation. The mercenary burst out into quiet laughter. “Of course! What a tragic curse only you two idiots could have!” 

“As you were saying.” Vergil grumbled, turning his head away in embarrassment. 

“Seeing as you were one of my kind, I couldn’t be happier to cover. I was the one who gave permission for you to enter, after all. Although, I didn’t account for.. this. The two of you. Bravo by the way. You had me completely convinced the same man I met in the main hall had somehow managed to disguise himself as a waiter behind the scenes. Should’ve guessed from the way you talk that you were two separate people.”

“Definitely not our mother then, huh?" Dante remarked, with a faint smile. Earning him a disapproving grunt from his twin. “Come on Verge, get off her. Its the least we can do to thank her for helping us out.”

Vergil went deathly still. An incredibly wary look crossing his aristocratic features at the suggestion. His mouth twitching, gritting his teeth, struggling between the rational logic he’d always prided himself on, and the powerful emotions wracking his being. 

Dante almost counted the seconds until his brother finally responded. "Fine, have it your way. Until we're out of this mess.", Vergil huffed, pulling himself back and standing back up. Not even so much as extending a hand to help Trish up, as he instead, almost eagerly, hurried off down the hall at the sound of distant footsteps. Keeping silent vigil, all alone in the shadows, as he checked around the corner for any threats. 

_I’ll leave you to it._ Dante told him softly, although it wasn’t like Vergil could even hear his thoughts. Still, the sentiment was there at least, comforting Dante all the same. This.. this was rough on the both of them. No doubt his big brother was rushing to the same worrying conclusions he had, if not worse given Vergil’s pessimistic nature. He needed time alone. 

“Here let me give you a hand-” Dante began to offer, extending his hand out, only for Lady to suddenly butt in front of him.

“Let me help you!” Lady gleamed, doing the exact same motion he had done. Trish gladly accepted, grabbing a hold of Lady’s delicate hand firmly. Allowing the mercenary to pull her back onto her own two feet with a rough grunt. 

“Thanks.” Trish said, nodding lightly; a breathless edge to her voice. Suddenly reaching over and pulling the smaller women into a hug.

Lady imminently seized up at the unexpected contact, as a small yelp escaping her. Not really seeming to know what to do with herself. She awkwardly slid her arms around the blond women and lightly patted her on the back. Returning the sentiment, hoping that would be the end of it. 

But Trish persisted. One smooth hand tracing up Lady’s back towards the plaid nape of her neck. Stroking the small area under her thumb. Causing the poor mercenary to completely freeze up. Even from behind, Dante could see the furious blush burning up on Lady’s ears. 

_Great, so now I’m also competing with the clone of my mum for her! Just my rotten luck..._ Dante sighed to himself despairingly. His long snowy hair drooping down sadly around his face, as a pout made its home on his lips. He rubbed the back of his neck. His fingers mindlessly traced along the large metal lump located there. _At least with Vergil I would’ve had a blinding chance at-_

The chip. 

Trish was looking for a chip.

She was checking to see if Lady was a demon. 

Just then, Trish pulled back from the embrace. Her green eyes fixed on Dante with curiosity. 

“She’s human.” Trish noted.

Dante shrugged it off nervously; avoiding eye-contact with the blond demoness. “Well.. yeah-” 

“Why did you bring a human?” Trish asked, voice firmer. “You should know, we don’t involve them in our work unless it's absolutely necessary-”

“Hey I’m necessary!” Lady exclaimed vehemently, sticking her face close to Trish’s until their noses practically touched.

“In what way? We had this situation in hand just fine.” Trish countered. Crossing her arms. "Humans like you are just a liability. You make mistakes. We don’t.”

“Suuuure~ Like those two have never fucked something up!” Lady admonished, jutting an angry finger towards the white haired man behind her. "I’ve seen it with my own two eyes, _demon!_ So don’t go pulling that superiority bullshit with me.”

“Your eyes deceive you then, _human_.”

The brunette let out an indignant growl, angrily stamping down her foot. “I have a name you know. It's Lady-”

“Ok! Ok! Calm it ladies!” Dante intervened, pushing his way in-between the two women, arms out wide. While he’d normally sit back and enjoy the on coming cat-fight - hell maybe even grab some salty popcorn - now was neither the time nor the place for it. Even without Trish’s damning report, hanging over his head, or not. 

“You have ten seconds to explain your reasoning for this, or I’m going _directly_ to my commander with this when I get back.” Trish threatened ominously. 

Dante gulped. 

“Alright. We hired her to help us because.. she’s a... a mercenary who’s got ties to the cult’s dealings!“ Lady opened her mouth, quite rightful wanting to rebuke his tiny-weeny lie here. But he quickly turned to her with a begging glance. Praying she’d get the message to please just role with this as he turned back to face Trish. “And so we thought she’d be useful given our lack of understanding for the cult’s uh.. practices. Answer your question?”

Trish didn’t respond immediately. Instead, raised a hand to her chin and tapped a finger against it, as she thoughtfully pondered over his response. Her green eyes danced between the pair of them with the stern gaze of a judge, jury and executioner - trialling them for their crimes on the spot. Eventually, she lowered her elegant hand back down to its resting place on the side of her hip again, once she’d seemingly reached a conclusion. 

“Yes.” Trish answered simply. 

Dante immediately let out a deep sigh at that. Tilting his head back slightly and allowing his shoulders to drop and relax in relief. Crisis averted. _Phew, now that could’ve been a complete disast-_

“But-” Trish continued, turning to stare at his shorter companion."I won’t be having you utter a word of what’s happened here tonight to anyone, _human_. No matter how much anyone pays you. Our Emperor's punishment for treason will be far higher than you can imagine.”

“Well that’s not at all threatening. But fine! This mouth will stay zipped shut.” Lady drew her hand across her lips, mimicking the motion she described. Casting the blond woman a burning side eye as she did so.

“Good.” Trish smirked. 

Seeing the matter as a closed cut and dry case. The doppelgänger squatted down to finally retrieve her gilded sword from the floor. 

“Not like I’d do anything like that, by the way.” The mercenary huffed, turning her back on the blond women. Black dress swaying behind her as she strolled over to Dante; poking him square in the chest with her finger. “You better have a hefty pay-check waiting for me when I get back.”

 _Wait. We never agreed to anything like that!_ Dante cried internally. 

Perhaps she just playing up the part of a ruthless gun for hire, to fit with their narrative? Dante hoped that was the case. It seemed the most likely scenario. But he could never be certain with money threats coming from her like that. She still hadn’t forgiven him for that Pizza yet….

“Don’t worry it's coming.”

“It's better.” A cheekily smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “If not, I’m taking your hair as a downpayment pretty boy~”

“Oh the calamity!” He professed, equally struggling to maintain a straight face. Resting a gentle hand on her shoulder, as he playfully pushed the money hungry mercenary away from him. “Guess I’ll just have to pay up quick then.”

All of a sudden, the echo of baritone robotic voices rang out nearby. “Next corridor, men! Get a move on!"

“Sounds like they are getting close.” Trish’s motherly smooth voice observed. The pair turned to look at her, finding one of her golden swords dissolving into her arm like a spatter of bright stardust. Disappearing from sight. “We best get moving. I assume you have an escape plan prepared?"

“Yeah of course we-“ Did they have an escape plan? Dante couldn’t remember anything about one.

Growing increasingly worried, he glanced over at Lady, hoping she’d have the answer. Only to find her plaid feature looking equally as blank on the matter. Raising a dark eyebrow at Dante as she posed the exact same question to him.

 _She doesn’t know either._ He realised. _Crap!_

The demon didn’t want to appear disorganised in front of Trish. They were only barely convincing her of their ‘backup-hood’ as is! Panicking, his icy eyes darted down the dimly lit hall to the figure standing at the end of it. _Vergil’s got to know right? He totally prides himself on this kind of shit!_

“Hey Verge! Can you come back down here real quick?” He called out.

Vergil glanced over his shoulder. “The enemy is approaching Dante. I can’t just abandon-“

“Yeah yeah, I get that. But it’s _super_ important alright?” Dante argued. He clasped his hands together, and gave the best puppy eyes he could muster. “Pretty please, just for your little brother~"

“Fine. I’m coming.” Vergil groaned. Shaking his head disapprovingly and mumbling something inaudible to all but himself, as he made his way back over to the group. “What do you want then, _little brother_?”

Dante lifted his arms up into the air behind his head, his fingers laced together in a backwards lattice; as he attempted to stretch away the growing ache in his muscles. Trying to seem casual about this. “Well if you could tell Trish here what our escape plan was that would be grand!”

Vergil clocked his head to the side, bemused. “…Escape plan? I thought you two had taken care of that.” 

His stretch halted on the spot. Eyes widening. 

_Oh no._

"Bwahaha!” 

The two brothers flinched, completely caught off guard by the sound of their mother’s familiar laughter. They both quickly span around towards the source of the sound. Finding Trish barrelled over, clutching the knees of her white, leather combat suit as she chuckled to herself.

There was a certain wrongness to it however. It sounded twisted, bitter. A sadistic quality underlying it. Bringing none of the joyful warmth Eva’s always had, soothing the souls of those around her. If anything it just put Dante more on edge, like an electrical shock suddenly jolting through his body, making him shiver with unease. And Vergil...

“Don’t. Patronise. Us.” He growled through gritted teeth. His hands curling into fists by his sides. 

Trish didn’t respond. Too caught up in her own hysterics, as she whipped away tears of amusement from the corner of her eyes with the back of her hand. Wheezing, as she attempted to get a hold of herself. She took a series of shaky deep breaths in and out. Eventually coming back to her senses once again. 

“Sorry. That was just too funny!” Trish stated, voice-high pitched and still slightly raspy from her laughter. She looked up and saw Vergil standing there. The stern rigidness to his stance and furious countenance to his face, portraying just how close he was to exploding up he was. Trish pawed her hand forward dismissively. “Oh, don’t get your knickers into a twist! It's fine! It just amazes me given the lengths you must have taken to get in here.”

“Yeah..” Dante murmured, ducking his head behind his brother’s back as he felt his cheeks warm with embarrassment. 

“S-So do you have one of your own?” Lady asked, awkwardly twiddling her fingers.

“That I do. Well observed, _human_.” Trish applauded, like she was a small child who’d come to grasp something painfully simple. Causing a growl to leave the incensed mercenary. “Granted, I didn’t account for the fact it would be needed for more than one person. But I think we can make this work. If you will join me?”

Trish held out her hand. Vergil, however, turned away from his fellow demon and pushed his hair up. Staring back at her with sharp, distrusting eyes.“We will think about I-"

“OVER HERE!” Came a loud, robotic shout from behind. Startled, the group turned to find an armoured guard pointing at them. Several more guards ran up behind him. 

“Alright! Let’s get a move on team!” Dante exclaimed, giving Vergil a brief pat on the shoulder as he rushed passed - sprinting off ahead of the group. Swooping down for his fallen sword and grabbing it as he sped off. The rest quickly joined after him, as the bright yellow flashes of gunfire reflected in the shiny laminate floor.

* * *

Reaching the last few metal steps. Dante grabbed a hold of the nearby handrails and, with a well-timed swing, managed to catapult himself over them. Landing on solid ground without missing a beat. He stumbled over to the fire exit before him and threw his body weight against it, sending the flimsy doors flying open with a painful smack, as they collided with the walls either side of it. 

The sight of a dingy, underground car park met him. Pools of water lay strood across tarmac, where the drainage system had obviously failed. Reflecting the sharp, bright, yellow lights of the overhanging LEDs. For somewhere so crappy then, it came as a shock to Dante that _this_ was where they were storing the fancy, sleek cars of the wealthy attendee’s. Priceless convertibles, and sports cars left abandoned in complete squaller. 

And this place was cold…really firkin cold! A violent shiver ran through Dante’s body, as the car parks' icy draft hit him. Rooting him in place, un-moving, as he rubbing his metallic coated biceps. 

“Dante move!”

“Huh?”

He didn’t react in time. Another body collided with his own, smashing into his back. Sending the pair of them toppling to ground.

“Oww..” Dante whined, through wheezing stilted breath. Even with the safe knowledge his Devil Trigger probably protected him against most injuries, he could have sworn he’d broken a rib to two from colliding with the solid concrete. Not exactly being helped by the hefty weight on top of him putting pressure on the sore area. And if the blue highlights to their arm, limply draped over his shoulder in front of the demon, was any guess - it was darling dearest Vergil that had inflicted such a foul injury upon him. 

“You should have moved, you fool..” Vergil grumbled.

“Maybe you shouldn’t run downstairs then. Mum always used to tell you off for that!” Dante retorted, a pained smile tugging at his lips.

He felt his brother’s body stiffen with rage above him. “ _Dante_ -“

“Wow, would you look at that! Turns out Demons **_can_ **make mistakes!” The voice of Lady smugly pointed out from behind. 

An incensed sound left Trish at that. She stormed over to the pair of them and kicked them (well mostly Dante at the bottom) in the side, hard. “Get up you two!"

“Alright, alright!” Dante reassured. Waiting for Vergil to get up before pushing himself off the ground with a grunt. He winced a little and pressed a hand against his side, as he straightened up. The sharp pain still twinging in his chest, but almost subsiding as the soothing presence of his healing factor inevitably kicked in. 

“I’ll go and get the vehicles. You barricade the door with something while I do that.” Trish ordered bluntly. Already making her way over to a white monolith just across from them. A series of different vehicles parked nearby it. 

“Maybe hold back your sarcastic remarks next time.” Vergil sighed. Shaking his head in dismay. 

“Hey, she was asking for it!” Lady defended herself nonchalantly, shrugging. “Come on! Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy that just a little?” 

“I was the one being kicked.” 

“Yeah, you sure were Verge-” Dante started to say, only for his voice to be gradually drowned out by the swelling sound of loud metal clanking. Growing more staccato by the second, as it seemed yet another pair of steel capped boots came into contact with the metal steps they had just come down. The dull mutter of heavy breathing and speech echoing down the stairwell to the party below. It seemed the guards had figured out where they had slipped off to.

“Dante, help me move these.” Vergil called out all of a sudden; his voice calm yet urgent. Dante looked over, finding his brother hurrying over to a large industrial garbage bin, pressed against a nearby brick wall. His twin's leg swelled with a blue light, before he stamped down on the large metal locks keeping it in place. Crumpling the hardened steel effortlessly. “Can you get those doors for us, Lady?"

“On it!” The mercenary replied, running over to the fire doors. Slamming them shut. 

“Alright, who's gonna count us down?” Dante asked, appearing beside his brother. Putting his hands on the side of the bin.

“I would say I get the honour, little brother. I don’t recall you ever having learnt to count.” Vergil chastised. A small, fond little smirk playing on his lips.

“Well if I can’t count. Then you sure as hell can’t either book boy!” 

“Don’t call me that- '' He was suddenly caught off guard as Dante started to push the bin. Causing Vergil to not-so ungracefully fall forwards after it. His metallic coated hands thankfully landing on its plastic case before it got out of arm's reach. “I thought _we_ were counting!"

Dante didn’t reply. Whistling innocently, as looked anyway else but at his fuming brother by his side. Vergil eventually conceded with an inaudible grumbled. Staying silent as the pair of them pushed the hefty garbage bin along. How its small, trolly-like wheels could even hold up something this heavy was a complete mystery to the demon. But it sure made it a pain to steer in the right direction, constantly attempting to sway downhill. Requiring one of the brothers to hurry to the other side and push it back on track, to prevent it from sliding out of control. 

On one of these occasions, when it was silently agreed it was Vergil’s turn to steer. Dante’s eyes strayed away from the target, landing on the sight of Trish, eyes closed in stern concentration, with her hand pressed against the white monolith. He watched as the terminal's screen freaked out, pixels rapidly shifting into broken distorted patterns of the rainbow like its glass had been shattered and broken, yet still remaining completely intact. 

_Let’s hope there’s no weird virus on that this time. I don’t really want to be carrying some weird copy of my mum back to Nell. That's gonna be one hell of an explanation when the old lady enviably asks who she is!_ Dante weakly chuckled to himself. His brother, across from him, must have thought he was some kind of lunatic with that weird stare he was giving him. But Dante simply brushed it off with a playful eye roll. 

When they finally made it to the fire door, it seemed they were not a moment too soon. As almost a second after he and Vergil finally moved the garage bin into a comfortable position, the flimsy door began to violently shake as someone tried to force it open.

“My~ They came quicker than I was expecting!” Trish commented from behind. The pair turned, finding the blond women pushing two motorbikes over to them.

Vergil looked incredibly nervous all of a sudden. He reached a hand, twitching with the slightest of tremors, up to his collar and adjusted it sharply. “Wait, we are using... _those things_?"

“Of course! They’re fast, and nobody’s going to miss a few security bikes.” Trish said, patted the handlebars of the bikes proudly. When the blue demon’s uneasy mood still didn’t improve despite her reassurances. Trish’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Wait. Don’t tell me, you don’t actually know how to ride one!?”

Oh, Vergil totally did know how to ride one. Could actually be pretty damn good at it when his mind was solely focused on the mission at hand. Dante had seen the guy slickly monver through a packed street of civilians on one of these monsters, when they were in pursuit of a suspected killer. But that’s not to say he liked them. No it was the exact opposite. They had always unnerved him, ever since- 

Look, Vergil was fucking terrified of them. 

Dante guessed he had to shoulder some of the blame for this. When they were younger, perhaps barely hitting adolescence, he had coxed Vergil through blackmail into stealing their father’s motorbike. Dante drove of course. Like the stupid kid he was, he believed it couldn’t be any different from riding a regular bike. The major difference being he wouldn’t have to work his ass to get it moving. So he hopped onto the bike. Vergil as his passenger on the back; his little arms wrapping tight around his twin’s petite waist, almost as the machine whirled to life. It took a little while to figure out the controls, but he was always a quick learner and soon they were off.

The roads on the upper floor were far emptier than the gridlocked streets of the underworld beneath them. Ok, the population was far smaller to be fair. But the introduction of self-driving cars - long before he or Verge were born - had killed any kind of human error, stone dead, from the roads. All the taxies were ruthlessly efficient at getting where they needed to go. There were barely any roadworks causing traffic jams, as every car checked the road beneath them for bumps and crevices, quickly being repaired by nanobots if the issue was found. But most importantly, **_there were no accidents._ **

Well…until that day broke the streak. 

Some of the older hire ups in the military preferred to drive manually for pleasure; their father included. So there was nothing illegal about what he and Vergil were doing on the surface. But the automated roads weren’t built for mistakes. For the distracted eye of a hyperactive child losing focus in the thrill of the moment. Missing the supply lorry pulling out in front of them-

They’d crashed head first into it’s divers cabin. Something Dante was later told would have been a fatal accident had they been human. Embarrassingly, it was the first time their devil’s triggers had ever activated; which had thankfully protected them against most of the damage, or at least healed it before they could realise. But Vergil’s had been just a fraction too slow, and a large shard of glass had managed to wedge itself in his neck. 

To give Vergil credit, he’d been brave as hell staying eerily calm as he was until they finally managed to get medical treatment to have it removed. But a nasty scar still remained. One that had likely not seen the light of day for years since, under all those neck-length shirts and scarfs he wore. 

“I just don’t want to get on one of those death traps. Is that reasonable?” Vergil retorted. He crossed his arms stubbornly across his chest.

“Sure! But like we don’t have a choice in the matter right now. I’d give it two minutes tops till they break down that door.” Trish stated, gesturing to now violently shaking the fire door with her eyes. “Now if you wanna prove to me you’re not a scared _'wittle_ boy who wants mummy to come get him. Then you better sit your ass down on one of these right now!"

Vergil erupted at her words. “HOW DARE YOU-"

Lady put an arm out between Vergil and Trish, as if to create a blockade between the irate demon and the object of his fury.“Okay! Vergil, can you take a chill pill for a moment?” Vergil stared back at her in silent contemplation, his jaw shaking fiercely under the weight of how tightly he was gritting his teeth, debating what the best course of action to take was. 

Thankfully he seemed to relent, backing down with a loud huff. Picking up that maybe now wasn’t the best time for an outburst. But that wasn’t to say he still wasn’t upset. Turning his head away from the blond women disgruntlement.

Seeing that Vergil wasn’t about to implode now, Lady took a step forward and approached Trish. “Look, I’ll take him. I’ve ridden one of these things two or three times before. Dante can go with you.”

“That.. seems like a fair agreement, human. You have a deal.” Trish smiled. Rolling one of the motorbikes over to the mercenary. The bike wobbled without anything to balance it, coming on the verge of toppling over when Lady clumsily grabbed it. 

“Thanks.” Lady grumbled. Before turning her back on the demoness, and started rolling the bike back over to Vergil. 

Dante tapped her on the shoulder as she passed.

Lady turned her head to look at him, brows furrowing deeply in annoyance. “What is it Dante?”

Dante leaned down and whispered into her ear. “Take good care of him for me.”

He felt like he needed to say it. Dante knew Vergil would probably be fine. In fact, it probably was for the best that Vergil wasn’t riding with Trish right now (as jealous as he was of that bastard). But the fear that he could possibly freakout and endanger both Lady and himself still played in the back of the demon's mind. He just wanted to make sure Lady knew to watch for it. Even if that was under the promise of taking care of his stubborn twin.

Lady looked a little surprised at first at his humble ask. Nevertheless she seemed understanding. Nodding; “Will do. Don’t you worry about him.”

With that said, she headed off over to his twin. 

Lady mounted the bike in front of him. Patting on the empty space on the seat behind her with a soft smile. “It's not gonna bite! Hop on!”

The Vergil still looked on at her and the bike, deeply skeptical. “I’d beg to differ-“

_BANG!_

A bullet suddenly flew past Vergil. Barely missing the top of his armoured forearm as it collided with a nearby silver convertible. Letting out a loud metallic ping. 

Started, the group quickly turned to look at the fire door. The barrel of a rifle had been placed in a small gap that had formed between the two doors, just above the garbage bins. 

“Dammit I’m out of ammo!” A gruff robotic voice audibly yelled from behind the door. 

“Get out more then you idiot!” Another voice snapped. The guns barrel being retracted out of the gap. 

Without Lady realising it, Vergil was already throwing his leg over the bike’s seat. “On second thought the bike is safer.” 

The sudden shift in weight caused the bike to bounce a little, as Lady tapped on the black screen embedded in the bikes frame. The screen slowly faded awake from its slumber at her touch. The logo for the bike manufacturer appeared, which the mercenary quickly tapped away. Leaving only the green and red symbols for an on and off button underneath her fingertips. 

She pressed the ‘on’ button, and without a seconds delay the bike shuddered to life. Its engines roared with triumph. A startled yelp escaping Vergil at the sudden movement. 

“You better hold onto her Verge! Don’t exactly wanna see you come flying off now!” Dante advised, barely containing his laughter. 

“I know, alright?” Vergil growled lowly. Tilting his head down so that his brother couldn’t see his face. Or at least that’s what he thought. It seemed Vergil had forgotten the downsides of having his hair slicked all prim and proper. Because Dante could totally see how bright red his face was right now, clear as day. As he begrudgingly placed his hands on top Lady’s shoulders.

Lady glanced over her shoulder at him, raising an eyebrow unconvinced. “Hey I'm not sure that’s really gonna work-"

“It will do fine.” Vergil insisted stubbornly. A brave, determined, almost heroic look on his handsome features. He stared straight past her, almost like he was gazing off into the sunset at the end of a movie. All the while tightened his grip on her shoulders.

Lady scoffed, rolling her eyes as she turned her attention forward again. “Your undoing then!"

“Sir! We’ve got what you wanted!” A young voice came from the other side at the door. 

“Thanks. Give that here!” There was a sudden loud shout - almost like a war cry - before the door sung with the sound of metal being struck. The enamours head of a hammer smashing straight into flimsy metal, producing a large dent almost effortlessly. The garbage bins shifted ever so slightly. It was followed by another strike. Then another, and another, and another...

“Dante!” Lady suddenly called out. The demon turned away from the increasingly battered door towards her. "We’ll meet you back at my apart-uhhh..” She struggled for words as Trish’s critical gaze landed upon her. “Our home base!”

“Meeting at the Home base, got it!” Dante winked back at her. "You guys get going!”

Lady nodded. She squeezed down on the handle, and the bike sped off. Much to Dante’s delight however, for all of Vergil’s proud claims and reassurances he’d be just fine, they were all hilariously swept away when he - almost immediately - practically threw himself into the mercenary’s back. Grabbing onto her waist, and clutching himself to her like she was his personal lifeline, as they drove up a ramp and out of the car park.

Trish rolled the bike up alongside him. “You’re up next, boy. Let’s hope you're not such a wuss when it comes to these things too.”

“Eh, trust me that’s a distinctly Vergil thing.” Dante watched as thedoppelgänger mounted the bike. "We couldn’t be more different if we tried!"

“Well, I suppose you’re not out to kill me half the time like he is.” Trish rested her elbow on the handle bar, as she playfully cupped the bottom of her chin and leaned against it. "So I guess I can trust you there."

“Who’s to say I’m not?” Dante remarked cheekily. Lifting himself up onto the passenger seat behind him.

“Them apparently.” Trish lazily pointed a finger towards the fire door with the hand underneath her chin. Dante followed it’s direction. His sight falling upon the doors, almost with perfect comedic timing if he might add, just as the garbage bins were finally bashed away, drifting off of their own accord, when the doors suddenly flew wide open. A smoky metal canister being thrown out of its clutches. Its white fog rapidly began to obscure the area.

Dante’s blue eyes widened in alert at the sight of the tips of boats peeking out from the mist. He tapped the demoness in front of her shoulder. “Uhh Trish? Might wanna get those engines’ blazing!”

“One step ahead of you.” She said, the bike revving to life as she lifted her finger from the screen. Trish quickly reached for the handles and squeezing down on them. 

However, instead of speeding away out of the way of the guards, she spurred the bike on straight towards them. 

In a moment of heart pounding ecstasy, Dante quickly unholstered his sword and started swiping at them - more to convince himself he was doing something about the situation then actually improving it. But after a few near-misses as bullets ricocheted off his metallic skin - the sensation little more than being poked, hard - his heart rate slowed down to a more normal pace again when he found the bike swerving around towards the ramp, the exit.

It seemed Trish hadn't run them straight into the pack of guards streaming out of the door for nothing. She had curved into them in a wide arc, giving her fellow demon time to strike. And from the sound of panicked yelling, at least a few of his strikes had found their target. A smirk came to rest on the demon's lips as they sped out into the overground. 

“Well you can sure think on your feet! Neither would’ve thought to do that!”

Trish briefly glanced back at him with a small smile. “Thank you for the compliment.” Her sharp eyes focused back to the road. “Though I think we’re going to need to take a small diversion before we get you back to your little human friends’ home.”

“Wait, why?” Dante began to ask, only for a blinding mass of blue lights to fill his vision in front of him. The hoard driving straight towards the pair, sirens blazing. Neatly lined up as they barricaded the wide crossroad junction ahead. "Oh..”

“I’d suggest you hold on for this!” Trish swung the bike with a sharp swerve, bringing them dangerously close to the hard concrete - bright sparks flying off the wheels near their faces - as the bike tipped to the side. The bike’s balance barely maintained its equilibrium as they narrowly avoided the fleet cars by a hair's breadth, before they suddenly swung back up right; racing off to the right. Fleeing into the oncoming traffic. 

* * *

The motorbike finally began to crawl slowly in a large open air gutter. 

Ok, that was being generous. It was more of a trash heap of sorts. Bags of rubbish, old washing machines and car wheels scattered about the area, dumped in a place no-one would see them. Pretty ironic for a floor acclaimed for its cleanliness. Though Dante supposed, everywhere, no matter now spotless, had to have its own little dumping ground. The space beneath Vergil’s bed could certainly attest to that. 

“Think we finally shook them?” Dante asked, glancing behind them once again for any loose stragglers they’d missed lurking behind. There was nothing there thankfully. But his neck muscles - sore, aching and protesting from repeating this same action over and over again for the past hour - cried out in pain. He lifted a hand from Trish’s waist and rubbed the tender flesh. Wishing someone could just come and snap his neck and relieve him of this tension. He could hardly bear the thought of going through another hour of this bullshit.

“I’d have thought so.” Trish hummed, peaking over her shoulder at him. Her green eyes narrowed in concern. “You alright?”

“Uhh, kind of.” He admitted, awkwardly glancing away. He didn’t want to appear weak in front of her. "Don’t worry about it.”

Trish sighed in a way all too familiar to Dante. Sending a shiver down his spine. “We may as well make a stop here.”

“Nah, you don’t need to-“

It was too late. Trish’s snowy boots were already touching the ground as he said it. She tapped the screen and turned off the bike. Getting off and walking around to her companion. 

The blond demoness bent her knees and lowered herself beside him. “What kind of neck pain is it?”

Dante jolted back in surprise. Wondering where the hell this sudden interest was coming from. “Huh?!” 

“Does it feel all locked up? Like you can’t really move it because it's so stiff?”

He wasn’t actually sure how to respond at first. His mouth dumbly agape. What she was describing… it sounded spot on for how he was feeling right now. To the point Dante honestly had to call into question if being Eva’s doppelgänger also meant she stole her ability to diagnose anything about him with scary accuracy, with just one look.

“Pretty muc-" 

“And the rest of your body?” She cut in.

“Same.” He shrugged nonchalantly. "Why's that important anyways?”

A look of growing concern briefly flashed across her sharp features at that. “You need to disable your trigger. Your lactic acid levels are getting too high.” 

“Oh shit, right!” Dante immediately reached up and touched the chip on the back of his neck, briefly closing his eyes as he willed for the metallic skin to retract. It followed his command of course, a ticklish feeling running throughout his whole body. Leaving only irritatingly baggy white robes hanging across his body in place. 

Way to go and embarrass himself right there! Trish had to think he was a complete idiot right there… He certainly didn’t have Vergil’s constant need to ass kiss his superiors (Was Trish here even his superior? They could be the same rank for all he knew. Fuck, maybe by age? But even then she’d have to have lived as long as Eva for that to be the case.) but checking for those kinds of symptoms was a 101 basic. How could he not feel ashamed?

He awkwardly scratched the back of his head; hand running amok through soft hair. “Man, you get so distracted escaping you forget these things, you know-"

“Dante, I’m not your teacher. You don’t have to make up excuses like you forgot your homework.” Trish stated, standing back up straight and crossing her arms.

“But I thought you said we don’t make mistakes… right?”

Trish smirked softly and shook her head. Leaning back against the bike beside him.“Only say that to humans dear. We have an image to maintain, don’t we?”

Dante chuckled quietly. “Guess so.” 

A mutual silence fell upon them. 

“Dante, I’ve been meaning to ask.” Her gloved hands tensed around her arms. "You don’t seem like the run of the mill warrior for your age. Now, either you’re some hidden prodigy that I’ve never heard of, or the blood of a decent lineage is running through your veins. I want to know which."

“Why? Can’t I just be a badass regardless?” Dante responded slyly.

“Hmmm, perhaps. But I just want an explanation…” Trish’s emerald eyes glanced away sheepishly at a pile of rather nondescript garbage bags, swarming with buzzing flies. “...before I leave.”

“Wait, leave?!” Dante said, rising from the motorbike in alarm. Great, just his luck that this would happen! He should’ve been stubborn and gone with Lady had he known this little partnership of theirs would end like this! “You’re just gonna ditch me in the gutter like this?!”

Trish put a stern hand on his shoulder. Keeping the irate young man at arms length from her, as sharp fingernails dug through the robe’s thin fabric and into the skin below; locking him in place. Her voice maintaining a smooth and defusing tone, despite the stern ire to her face; “The police are looking for this bike, Dante. The moment we so much as poke our number plate out of this trash heap they’ll be on our tail again. The only chance we have to shake them is to get to the elevator. I imagine they’ll be sharply dropping the matter once they realise who they are tangling with.”

“You plan to return to the upper floor.” No surprise there. "Not gonna give the food down here a try then? Might wanna stay once you’ve tried this Pizza place near Lady’s~"

“Har har! Nice try, Dante. But I’m not driving you back to your little human friend’s home.” Trish countered. Dante opened his mouth, wanting to plead his case, only for Trish to raise her hand. “And before you whine, consider this. How do you think she’d enjoy having a friendly neighbourhood SWAT team knocking on her door tomorrow? I doubt she’d like that."

“Yeah, okay you’ve got a point. Lady would be pissed.” Dante sighed, backing down as he limply pried Trish’s remaining hand from shoulder. Annoying as it was, Trish certainly had logic to her madness. And while figuring out where her apartment was in relation to this trash heap would take some time, he'd manage. 

To be honest could certainly do with a **_long_** ass walk after this. His aching muscles be damned. 

“Fine, I’ll find my own way back. And Trish?"

“Yes.”

Dante winked at her. “Let’s just say my daddy is a certain second in command to you know who~” 

“Lord Sprada?!” The demoness exclaimed, and Dante nodded; wearing one of those all-knowing, cheeky smiles that pulled widely at his pallid cheeks. A soft, if not mildly shocked, chuckle escaped Trish’s lips in response, as she bent over and rubbed at her neck awkwardly. "Well don’t you just know how to impress me!”

“Heh, that I do!” Dante raised his hand and gave her a playful, two-fingered half salute. 

Yet his impish facial expression began to rapidly deteriorate. Fading away to that of an incredibly faint twinge to the lips, as the sinister reality of the situation, of this woman’s malignant existence, started to claw its way back into his psyche. Draining away the excitement and thrill of escape that had sustained him until now, and leaving only a gaping, uneasy emptiness inside his gut. As he was forced to watch on as this riddle, wrapped in the guise of his beloved mother, gracefully mounted the motorbike in front of him once more. “See you around... Trish”

The blond women nodded back to him. Her warm temperament indistinguishable from that of the woman he so dearly loved at that moment. “Same to you Dante.”

She tapped the screen once more and sped away down the gutter. Ramping up its steep side and rejoining the nearby road; disappearing into the stream of traffic soon after. 

Dante stumbled backwards, collapsing onto a pile of rubbish and sinking into it like it was his own personal bean bag. It was like the whole world had come crashing down on top of him. A sudden wave of exhaustion and anxiety overcoming him. Holding him down like a malicious invisible force. He rubbed his face, hoping that would stir up enough energy to get him off his ass, as a singular yet pitiable desire shot through his hazy mind.

_I need a beer._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus does Dante's downwards spiral begin!
> 
> Thank you for reading! :D
> 
> I worry I may have gone a little far with the world building there when it came to Vergil's exact reasoning for disliking motorbikes. But honestly I think it adds to more of the boys 'happy' childhood in this AU, due to not having something as traumatic as Eva dying effecting them. As well as giving a little more lore on how the demons conduct themselves and their society in this AU. 
> 
> Trish too I had a blast writing here! I like to think she's very fanatical in her service to Mundus and the demons ideology here as a whole. Hence she's so antagonistic to a human like Lady. However, as I expand her character, doubts will start to grow towards that organisation and that's where I hope most of the intrigue will come from! Although I shall say no more for now! >:D
> 
> The next 2ish chapters will be mainly a cool down from this event mainly. With the 10th chapter capping off the cult and Augustus' arc (mostly because I'm working on that right now *nervous laughter*). So please look forward to that!
> 
> Tumblr: https://louadorable126.tumblr.com


	9. Chapter 9 - Schrödinger's Eva

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!
> 
> This chapter should be the last one rounding off the charity event. So be prepared for a lot of angst and existential questioning on poor Dante's front! ;_;
> 
> Currently suffering with a bit of writers block with the next chapter, so I may just keep to this style of bulk releasing chapters in the future as it works out rather nicely! 
> 
> Anyway please enjoy the angst fest! :D

At the loud clunk of a bottle rolling out the bottom of a vending machine, Dante mindlessly squatted down and reached a hand under the dark flap. 

The glass was ice cold to the touch beneath his fingertips; wet too - dripping with water droplets that uncomfortably ran down his hand. Water condensing under the warmth of his flesh. Just what he needed right now. A good kick to the senses. 

God, he felt so numb.

The walk here had done little too soothe him. No, it had just given him more time to think, when he just wanted to do the exact opposite. It had been a constant battle of trying to keep his mind empty, free of any stray thought, while also trying not to get run over by cars. Something that turned out to be pretty damn hard!

Dante pushed himself back up off the ground, using the colourful vending machine as a support. He didn’t even attempt to find a bottle opener. Instead opting to just rip the mettle topper off with his bare hands. Bottle plugged to his mouth in his next breath and letting the freezing liquid pour into his system. He couldn’t bring himself to stop. It kept coming; as he chugged, chugged and chugged, until his body could take no more - practically on the verge of asphyxiation when his lips finally left the bottle.

“Fuck, that was good!” He coughed out, voice raspy. Falling back against the vending machine with a thump. The young man allowed himself a few moments to breath, before glancing back at the bottle. He’d managed to down at least 3/4’s of the bottle in one foul swoop. He had to smile a little at that, a new record for him. _Might as well finish you off then, shouldn’t I?_

And so he did. This time thankfully not almost suffocating himself. 

Done with the bottle, he dumped into into a nearby, green ringed recycling hole beside the machine. Lighting up happily when he did so, as he moved to order another beer from the vending machine’s display.

**_"Attention all travellers! Due to a on-going police incident, all trains from 11pm onwards have been cancelled, as this floor will be placed under immediate lockdown for the foreseeable future. It is advised travellers either find suitable residence for the night, or board any of the remaining trains currently platformed. Thank you for your patience. Glory be to our Emperor!”_ **

The peppy tannoy announcement quickly faded away, soon replaced by the starting of a tacky hip-hop beat in its place leaking out of the small rooms speakers. Dante sighed and shook his head at the announcement. Walking over to a small steel counter and bar stool by the large glass window, new bottle in hand. 

It made sense they’d be closing off the area. Although Dante hadn’t exactly counted on them being so quick about it. The police were far less efficient than his people were at dealing with stuff. Although, murdering a bunch of people right next to some of the wealthiest of humans in the city, probably send a rocket up the arse of much the bureaucracy that normally held them back. 

_Must’ve been quiet the pandemonium back at the party_ . _All those corporate folks clutching their pearls and fainting..._ W _hat I would have given to seen that!_ Dante chuckled to himself at the thought. Taking another swing of his beer. _Guess those poor guys down there will work for now._

Blue eyes focused down on the hectic platform bellow. The last stragglers of the floor’s night-life battled each-other over the nearby ticket hurdles in a mad crush. Although there was a particularly amusing group of what looked to be a dozen bachelors, bent over backwards forming a makeshift stairwell over the tall barrier for their groom to walk up. It obviously failed of course. The guy lost his balance and ended up going crashing to the ground on top of his friends, but they all seemed to be having a laugh at least. 

The platform itself was no better. People sprinted down towards the trains like they were getting onto the last life-boats of the titanic. Cramming tight into the trains like fish in sardine cans. Clearly he wasn’t going to be sitting on the way back it seemed. _Great._

For what should have felt like a clean victory tonight, really was starting to feel like the complete opposite. Yeah, their big family secret was now as good as dead and buried now (if Augustus was holding up his end of the bargain), and they could return back home finally. But, what would even be awaiting them there now when this adventure was over? Lady sure wouldn’t. She’d be stuck back down here. Where they could only - what? Visit her whenever they were given a new assignment? Ugh, Dante wasn’t even starting to miss them. How much pleasure had he gotten from being able to do his own thing down here? It was amazing feeling, not having every mission strictly chosen for him by mother dispatch’s hand-

 ~~ _Don’t think about that!_ ~~A voice snapped in the back of his mind like a metal slap. His body jolted in sharp response, as the alabaster hand around his glass tightened. _Just don’t._

Dante took a shaky sip of his icy drink. Squeezing his eyes tightly shut as he attempted to purge his mind of the thought once more. 

But the beer did little to help, its chill expertly focusing his mind onto that exact topic, onto _her_ alone.

What was Trish? ~~_Please stop_ ~~ _._ Clearly not Eva in terms personality that’s for sure. They couldn’t be more different. There… there just wasn’t the same flame there that Eva had always had. That’s the best way Dante could think to describe it. Eva always felt warm in a homey way, while Trish felt like the violent tinders setting the whole place alight. _Stop It!_

Granted, he couldn’t lie that he didn’t find that quality rather admirable. But the uncanny valley was just far too strong for his own liking. Heh, maybe that’s the same feeling people get when they meet him and Verge for the first time. Two people who look completely alike, but are so wildly different from one another it. Fuck, maybe Trish is just a long lost twin of Eva’s who’d just happened to be converted into a demon at some point? Fucking absurd idea, he knew. But given how many recent revolutions about his family had come to light in the past few weeks. How much did he truly know about his family, anymore? For all he could know, twins really could just run in the family-

He was just kidding himself wasn’t he? Dante could already imagine Vergil disapproving remarks over how ridiculous such an insane idea was. And he knew damn well phantom Vergil wasn’t wrong. He knew the most likely answer. ~~_You’re going to regret this you idiot! Stop thinking now_ _!_ ~~ He always had. 

The only other thing Trish could most likely be was…

Eva herself. 

Ground up and converted into one of his own kind. 

There was no other obvious (and realistic) way why Trish would look so much like her. And in a twisted way, the idea just worked, from the moment it clicked in his mind! What would be a more fitting punishment for her and Sparda, for having half-human offspring like him and Vergil, than making Eva into a demon against her will? 

A twisted, cruel smirk pulled at Dante’s lips. This was all his fault wasn’t it? He should’ve been there to protect her. He never should have gone looking for Vergil. He should’ve payed closer attention to him instead of brushing his strange behaviour off, stopped him before he went on his murder tour of the city’s databanks in the first place. He was such a awful brother and son to the both of them, wasn’t he? 

**_"Attention travellers! 5 minutes remain until the last train departs!”_ **

Despairing, Dante went to go take another sip from his bottle. Yet only a drop of the bitter drink landed on his tongue. He lifted the bottle up into the air, and lazily tipped it upside down. Squinting a little, gazing up into its small hole, only to depressingly find nothing there…

Maybe he was taking this self-deprecating train of thought too far though? There was nothing concrete about that conclusion. He was just going off yet another assumption wasn’t he?

For one, Trish didn’t have the trademark bleach white hair they all had. _Heh, another blindingly obvious deduction there Detective Dante!_ He thought, a weak smirk just tugging at his lips. It...wasn’t a great case for Eva not being converted the more he thought about it though. She clearly had the tech of a demon, being able to summon those swords at will and all, and as Vergil had demonstrated tonight, she could’ve just dyed it blond. Perhaps it was a faint memory of Eva slipping through. But no, even that didn’t seem quite right...

He’d run into a few newly converted demons in his time, and while disoriented, they seemed to be able to completely recall their old lives with no trouble. Yet Trish had no memory of either of them - not even the basic motherly sixth sense that Eva always seemed to have, still lurking in there at all. So Eva's memory being wiped (did they even have that tech?) seemed out of the question. And what about the rucks that would’ve been caused upon the discovery that a human woman had been living on the upper floor for like what? 20 years under the demonic authorities noses? That would’ve been all over the news without question! Yet they hadn’t heard a peep of anything like that…

**_“Attention travellers! 2 minutes remain until the last train departs!"_ **

_So Eva could be safe, but she also be long gone. What a wonderful fucking paradox!_

Dante rubbed a hand across his tired eyes, his fingertips glazing over the warm sweat covering his brow. He got up from the stool, nursing the empty beer bottle to his chest; somewhat amazed it wasn’t shattering beneath his firm hold. He really needed to get going. No matter how much the anxious twist of his gut, or dizzy, alcohol-fogged mind begged him to do anything but sit his ass back down. 

Shakes racked his body, as he stumbled out of the small room and headed towards the escalator back down. 

**_“Attention travellers! The last train will be departing in 1 minute!"_ **

* * *

He was on the home stretch now. The area around him was at least starting to look like familiar territory. Good, he was utterly exhausted. Dante weakly chuckled to himself. _Vergil better be letting me have my turn on the sofa bed tonight. My legs are killing me…_

The young man stumbled around the corner, his hand resting on the nearby wall, keeping himself stabilised as he went. From a glance, the road ahead seemed to be barely lit by the dullest of lamps illuminating a profane poster advertisement for one of the local strip clubs on a nearby wall, the headlights of the occasional car driving past, and-

Dante swore. Having to cover his eyes for a moment to allow them to adjust, when he caught sight of it. Too bright for its own damn good. When it finally wasn’t burning out his retina, he hesitantly lowered his arm. 

_A phone booth?_ _What the hell kinda lighting budget does this city have for these things?!_

It could only be around a few meters ahead of him. The phone’s receiver haphazardly dangling in the air, swaying back and forth in the faint night breeze being swept in through its open door. 

Dante took a step closer to it. A creeping of temptation snaking its way into his mind. All the while the anxious twist in his gut grew tighter. 

This was his chance. All it would be was a little call to check she was still kicking. A simple tap of a few buttons and this unbearable stress would go away, might even sleep peacefully tonight too. But at the same, what if it just confirmed all his worst fears? What if he called her and was met by a voicemail, a disconnected phone line, a proxy posing as the women who raised him? He’d have closure he supposed, but at what cost? Could… could he even live with himself if the news was bad?

The demon stood outside the phone booth door, frozen still. His blue eyes fixed on the swaying receiver, following its hypnotic movements, as his hands curled into fists. 

_Dammit! Just do it._

On impulse, Dante stepped inside. Snatching the phone as he did so and raising it to his ear. He violently bashed his elbow into the phone box, causing a coin to come loose and fall into the change dropper. He quickly reinserted it back into the machine and tapped in his number. Almost bailed then and there. His pale finger hovering hesitantly over the confirm button. Dante gulped nervously. Shutting his eyes, he relented and pressed down on the button. There was no going back now. 

**_Ring Ring! Ring Ring! Ring Ring!_ **

"Come on, please pick up! You’ve got to Eva!" Dante muttered to himself under his breath; desperation clear in his words. His teeth gritting together tighter and tighter with every unanswered ring. 

Then, there was a click on the other end. 

“Hello?” Yawned a very sleepy sounding women. 

Dante’s heart skipped a beat. 

“H-Hey Eva.” He stuttered out. Clasping the phone tighter in his hand. "Man, sorry to be calling you so late-"

“Dante? Have you been drinking?” Eva asked with gentle concerned. 

“No.” He lied. Too anxious to be dealing with a drawn out lecture about this right now. “Look even if I had, I wouldn’t be _that_ badly effected. You know damn well who the household lightweight is!"

“Of course. It's your father."

“Hang on- Dad?” No, that wasn’t right. It was Vergil. He’d seen his dad go through two bottles of wine in the past and seem perfectly fine. What was Eva on about?

“Oh yes! Although, maybe don’t tell him I said that.” Eva chuckled faintly. "Of all the ways to get fired, that certainly wasn’t on my list!"

“R-Right…” Dante trailed off. 

“You seem nervous, sweetie. What’s wrong?"

 _"Wrong place, wrong time - sorry sweetie._ _”_ Trish’s voice haunted like a twisted echo in his mind. 

Dante’s brow furrowed deeply in apprehension. Something wasn’t right here. His gut instinct screamed it. Perhaps he was just paranoid, but the way in which his mother spoke just felt.. off. It was all a little too stilted, too mechanical - and while Eva was always a rather sophisticated women, she’d never sounded this… this robotic.

_What if this is all some kind of entrapment crap? If…they already know about Eva, this could just be some kinda proxy pretending to be her in case me or Verge call home. Fuck!_

“Yeah I’m fine Eva. Just fine…” Dante took a deep breath and shook his head. He needed to keep a level head, stay calm. Just until he knew who _exactly_ he was talking to here. “Ugh, ok this might sound a little weird but I need to ask you something. No big deal or anything! Just my memory is a little patchy-” 

“Its the alcohol isn’t it?” Eva slyly added. 

“No! And can you please stop with that?!” Dante snapped, impatience getting the better of him as the anxious, suffocating pressure in his throat mounted. “Please.. this is important to me Eva.”

The women on the other end said nothing for a moment, as though finally recognising the sheer desperation in his voice. “Alright Dante, I’m all ears.”

Dante let out a shaky breath. Incredibly thankful she was co-operating with what must’ve sounded like a bizarre request."Um, right so do you remember me and Verge’s 8th birthday?” Eva let out a agreeable hum on the other end of the line. Dante rubbed his aching forehead in relief. This was a good start at least. “Cool, cool. So what was our birthday cake again?”

It was chocolate. A spectacularly delicious one at that! Dante could always recall its heavenly sugary-sweet flavour on his tongue even now. Mostly because he’d had to fight Vergil over who got the bigger slice. Leading to Eva straggling the pair of them by their collars, like they were two out of control puppies flailing wildly at one another, and crushing them close to her chest as punishment. Dante could remembered laughing his lungs out at how Vergil next to him awkwardly squirmed to break free, his chubby face aflame with embarrassment. It was a happy childhood memory, one so private and intimate enough that only someone who was there could describe it in detail. 

“Oh well! That was a long time ago! Let me think.” Eva said, the sound of a chair scraping on the floor, and squeezing under another’s weight leaked through the phone. “Now wasn’t it vanilla? No, strawberry! It was strawberry flavoured. You always loved your strawberries!”

“But Vergil didn’t. He never did Eva.” _Come on Eva! You’ve got this. Please, this has gotta be you._ “Uhh let’s try something else! When Verge was in hospital after the accident and I was… well, pretty much shambles over the whole thing. You said to me-"

“I don’t get this Dante.” Eva sighed. Her voice gentle yet deeply concerned. "What’s with all these specific questions all of a sudden? Are you and your brother in some kind of danger-” 

“Please just answer the god damn question, Eva!” He growled lowly. The demon was instantly horrified at himself the very instant those cruel words left his mouth. He should’t be speaking to her like this. He knew he shouldn’t. Yet at the same time it felt disgustingly justified when speaking with this fake, mocking imitation of his mother. A twisted punishment to prove that he wouldn’t be deceived like _they_ wanted. But..what if he was wrong? What if he had just- 

Had said to the real Eva-

"You need to- I c-can’t-“

“Dante, you sound like you need to take a deep breath. Can you do that for me?“ Eva asked, her voice remaining calm and controlled. _Why is she being so calm about this!?_

“J-Just answer the question!” He begged desperately. _I need to know if you're still in there mum! Just say something! Anything! Please!_

“Not unless you calm down-"

“YOU’RE NOT REAL!"

There was a sharp, auditable gasp on the other end of the phone. One that told of untold amounts of sorrow and heartbreak. “Dant-“

She didn’t get to finish. Dante had slammed the phone back down onto its hanger. He was breathing heavily, yet no matter how much oxygen he took in it still didn’t seem like enough to calm him, let alone sustain him. He felt incredibly faint at the powerful emotion bulldozing through him, and so he collapsed back against the side of the cubical. Hands covering his face, as his fingers clawed their way into his scalp and violently pulled at his hair. 

~~_You’re not real. You’re not real. You’re not real. You're not not not not not not-_ ~~

He stayed like this for a long while. Unable to bring himself to do anything but mummer those simple words over and over. He didn’t know what was real anymore, and it scared him. Scared so fucking much. 

Is this how Vergil felt when he was looking into their birth records? The whole world gaslighting you into believing one thing, when deep down you know something is incredibly wrong? Fuck, how had he even manage stomach this? No wonder he went completely off the walls.

"I need to find him.” He whispered to himself, blindly stumbling out of the phone booth onto the street. "Verge is real. He’s real-“ Dante almost chocked up then and there. He stubbornly wiped at the growing wetness swelling in his eyes, with the back of his trembling hand. Feeling embarrassed for acting like such a child when he needed to be a grown man, an adult right now.

He took a deep, shuddering breath and looked up at the vast metal plate above him for a moment. Before he finally legging it back towards Lady’s apartment. 

* * *

The clink of a teaspoon being laid to rest on the counter rang throughout the dead silence of the apartment. Lady carefully picked up the two mugs from the side. Walking over to the sofa and putting them down on the side-table beside a brooding Vergil. 

He’d been like this since they got back. Hardly speaking a word as he stared out blankly into space, unmoving. He was thinking to himself no doubt. And honestly Lady couldn’t blame him. If she’d had some clone of her long dead mother come knocking at her door tomorrow morning, she’d sure as hell be pretty freaked out as well! No matter how much she’d loved the woman and desperately wanted her back, Lady knew Kalina's time had long since past.

This then just had to be infinitely worse for Vergil, she knew. What with his mum still being alive and all. 

“Hey Vergil.” Lady gently prodded the blue demon on the shoulder. Quickly catching his attention as he turned his head to look at her. “Thought you might want to have this."

Vergil at first looked a little surprised at this sudden interaction. But he quickly recovered, and nodded gratefully. “Thank you.”

He reached over and grabbed the mug. Lifting it close to his lips and blowing on its contents, before taking a small sip.

Lady took the opportunity to lean against the stiff hand-rest beside him. Grabbing her own mug and awkwardly taking a swing as well. 

“He’s still not back.” Vergil commented dowerly. His blue eyes nervously glancing over towards the front door.

“Well who knows where that woman dumped him! I’d honestly be amazed if she didn’t drag him back to your bosses kicking and screaming.” Lady chuckled weakly. Vergil wasn’t so impressed however. Grunting in stern disapproval of the ideal. “But if not, I’m sure Dante will find his way back! I can already imagine how much he'd whine if he was forced to sleep on the street."

Lady’s fool-hardy attempt at lightening the mood with humour failed spectacularly however. Doing little to quell the demon's concerns for his brother, as his mouth twisting into a frown, and a dark look clouded his narrow eyes as he stared down at his own reflection rippling the murky tan waters off his tea.

“I swear if that woman did anything to him…” Vergil ominously grumbled under his breath. Pale hands curling tight around his warm mug. 

“Hey, let’s watch some TV. Probably something half-decent is on.” Lady said gently, attempting to change the subject. This conversation clearly wasn’t helping him. 

Just as she was opening her mouth to command the TV on however, a pound came from the apartment door. Vergil’s head suddenly shot up at the sound, as Lady reached for her gun on the kitchen counter. Gingerly approaching the door. 

She exhaled a sharp breath, before tentatively twisting the handle and pulling it open just slightly.

Thankfully it seemed it was the one person they'd wanted to come knocking, as Dante stood there still as a rock looking worse for ware. His head bowed so his face was completely obscured under that long hair of his. 

“Welcome back!” Lady greeted with a relived smile; opening the door fully to allow him in. The mercenary quickly regretted that however upon being assaulted by a barge of foul stench, that could only be described as somewhere between a decomposing trash heap, an alcoholic and thick body oder, wafting over from him. She could only be thankful they’d be bining those white robes after tonight and she didn’t have to wash them. They’d think she’d let off a biological weapon if she brought that into the Launderette!

“Geez, did that woman dump you in a sewer or something?” Lady remarked, attempting to swipe the smell away from her with little success as she stepped back and allowed him to pass.

Dante didn’t respond. There was no witty come back like she’d been prepping to bounce off of. Instead only eerie silence as he walked into the apartment. His large frame visibly shaking.

“Dante are you ok? D…Did something happen?” She asked hesitantly, unable to hold back her stammer. How could she? She’d never seen him like this. Yeah, he’d been a little moody at times in the past, but never had Dante look this broken. It was like all the energy, all the playful peppiness that characterised him as who he was, had been forcibly drained from his body. Leaving only a limping empty shell of a young man. “Can you look at me?"

The demon still didn’t acknowledge her. Not out of any kind of cruelty Lady imagined. It was as if he hadn’t noticed she was there even as he hobbled right by her. Instead, proceeding to bee-line it over to his twin sat on the sofa. Standing over him, looming, dead still. 

Then it all came crashing down - quite literally, as Dante collapsed onto his brother in a crushing, silent hug. Almost reflexively, Vergil attempted to shove his hefty brother off him. Grabbing him by the shoulders, only to be stopped dead in his tracks, when a painfully sharp squeak escaped his trembling twin’s throat.

“T-They’ve g-got her Vergil! They’ve g-got m-mum!” Dante wept incoherently. Burying his face deep into his twin's hard shoulder.

Vergil froze. Staring down at his distraught little brother with immense concern. “Dante, what are you talking about?” 

“Mum.. she’s Trish. They’ve c-converted her. I phoned her up… to check, a-and she kept getting stuff wrong and avoiding my questions-“ He wheezed breathless. Lady’s heart stopped in her chest. Mis-matched eyes widening in horror. _Oh god. Is that what Trish is? Those bastards!_

Her eyes glazed over with immense sympathy for the pair, as Dante clung to his brother’s body tighter. His fingers dug claws into his brother’s sides. “I-It still could also be her though! But I don’t know anymore! I don’t-“ 

“We’ll come to our own conclusions in time, Dante.” Vergil calmly proclaimed. Running a gentle hand to and fro through his brother’s long silky locks. “That _thing_ tonight.. it wasn’t Eva.”

“But s-she could-“

“No it wasn’t.” Vergil stated firmly. He squeezed his brother’s shoulder and looked away down at the hand rest shamefully. "Blast. I am starting to sound like you saying this. But I have an instinct, a gut-feeling about it."

"Sure they haven't replaced you to then? Wouldn't mind a clone of myself…” Dante joked weakly between hitching, ragged breaths.

"I already am that biologically, you fool.” Vergil sighed, a small humoured smile playing on his pinkish lips. "Although speaking of science, I highly doubt they can successfully fully convert someone into one of our kind in under three weeks. Not unless Mundus had gotten his hands on some new, unheard of method just for the honour of some lover of one his generals. Technology like that.. it has better uses than on Eva.” Vergil paused for a moment, and scoffed at his own words. "Albeit this is Mundus we are talking about. And If I’m wrong... Well I suppose it seems we'll have to return to my original plan won’t we?” 

“Hey, no emperor killing without my help you two!” Lady chimed in. Taking the opportunity to settle beside the pair of them and rest a gentle hand on Dante’s back. Rubbing soothing circles along the young man's back endearingly. It was the least she could do for him when he was like this. Her mother… always used to do the same. 

“Heh, guess so…” Dante faintly mumbled, pressing his face into the warm crock of his brother’s neck with a peaceful sigh. Slowly but surely letting his heavy eyelids roll shut, and drifting off into slumber. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! :D
> 
> I felt like this chapter was a logical step in how someone like Dante would deal with something as strange as another version of his mother suddenly appearing. Dante's always been fairly self-destructive in his drinking in the main series, so him automatically turning to alcohol here when he's stressed here seems liked a good way to take it. 
> 
> Apologies if his back and forth thinking got a little repetitive however! I really wanted to make it seem like Dante was in the midst of a panic attack, hence his rapid and sometimes excessive leaps of judgment. I'm still not super confidant on my execution of this, compared to let's say my other work "The Devil's Library" with my Nero and Vergil story there. But its all practice I suppose in the end.
> 
> Tumblr: https://louadorable126.tumblr.com


End file.
